hello, you're watching afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. today at two: stand—off in hong kong — after overnight violence, riot police surround a university campus with hundreds of pro—democracy protesters inside. they came running out over the barriers, a large amount of tear gas fired down in their direction. and this is them escaping, basically. you can hear what the police are doing in response. borisjohnson tells business leaders he's shelving plans to cut corporation tax next april. after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces calls to cooperate with legal cases brought by alleged victims of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. jennifer arcuri, the woman at the centre of misconduct allegations involving borisjohnson, says he's ignoring her and blocking her phone calls. i am very upset that he could not man up and

pick up the phone and call me. no—one supports him more than i do, no—one wanted him to succeed more than i did, all those years. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. and in sport, premiership champions saracens won't appeal their punishment for breaching salary—cap rules, as eddiejones warns it could have a serious impact on his england squad. thanks, and darren has the weather. good news for skiers in the alps, but the weather could take a turn for the worse in venice in about a week or so, we will have a look at that and the uk, getting cold and frosty tonight. thanks, darren. also coming up — victory for the yorkshire museum in its battle to bring home a tiny piece of literary history, as a work by 14—year—old charlotte bronte is sold for more than £600,000 at auction in paris

hello, everyone, this is afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. after violent scenes overnight at a university campus in hong kong, several protesters have been arrested trying to escape from the site surrounded by police. hundreds of protesters are thought to be trapped inside the polytechnic university, which has become the latest battle ground for the pro—democracy demonstrations. china's ambassador to london said this morning that if the situation continued, the future of hong kong will be "unimaginable and dreadful". here's our correspondent in hong kong, robin brant. this is a university under siege — and at times under attack. this the latest of numerous fires to take hold in the last 2a hours. outside, the police have surrounded polytechnic university on bridges and on roads. inside, the protesters are waiting, fearing a repeat of this. in the early hours of this morning, police raided part of the campus.

a tense stand—off remains, though. around 500 protesters have barricaded themselves in, their food and water supplies are running low. they still have petrol bombs and other weapons, though. just before two o'clock in the afternoon, one group tried to escape. it's 1:45, and all of a sudden, we hear tear gas, and you look down and see a large crowd of protesters. they are basically making a run for it. i think there must be maybe a hundred of them. they came running out over the barriers, and a large amount of tear gas was fired down in their direction. a handful were arrested. police say anyone leaving the campus will be charged with rioting. i would urge those rioters, do not try to escalate the level of weapon or violence. we have the capability.

i will once again urge them to come out, surrender. the focus now, for the university at least, is to end this peacefully. we have now received the assurance of peace, of a temporary suspension of the use of force under the condition that if the protesters do not initiate the use of force, the police will not initiate the use of force. the stand—off continues, though, and supporters are streaming into the area around here in large numbers to provoke the police and to try to impede them. we heard that the students inside, they don't have food and water and they want to get out. this shows no sign of de—escalating — the opposite, in fact, and the police are now sandwiched between protesters barricaded inside and their supporters outside, on the march again. robin brant, bbc news, hong kong.

borisjohnson has said his government will postpone promised cuts in corporation tax if he wins the election. speaking to the annual conference of the employers‘ organisation, the cbi, the prime minister said the move would save £6 billion which could be used for other priorities, including the nhs. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has also been addressing the conference. he set out his plans to create 320,000 apprenticeships in england. this report from our business correspondent theo leggett contains flash photography. another day, another destination for the prime minister on the election hustings. this time, a chance to plead his case before business leaders at the cbi's annual conference. his message on the economy was carefully chosen, and the language, inevitably, colourful. like a formula one supercar... he spoke about plans for a cut in national insurance contributions for many firms and promises to promote research and development. also, a review of business rates. but there was a sting in the tail.

if i also announce today that we are postponing further cuts in corporation tax. and before you storm the stage and protest... let me remind you, this saves £6 billion that we can put to the priorities of the british people, including the nhs. we have already cut it from 28% to i9%. the stage wasn't stormed, but the decision to delay a 2% tax cut for businesses due next april was unlikely to have been aimed at the audience sitting in front of him. next to speak, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. i also hope you enjoyed the warm—up act that's just left the stage. he dismissed claims that he was anti—business and outlined plans for what he called a green industrial revolution, underpinned by a new generation of apprenticeships. so today we are announcing

a new climate apprenticeship programme, delivering 320,000 apprenticeships in england alone during the first year of a labour government. these climate apprenticeships will offer training to school leavers and workers looking to change jobs mid—career, creating the engineers, technicians and construction workers we need. the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, will address the conference this afternoon. visiting a technology company in st albans this morning, she insisted an anti—brexit approach made hers the natural party of business. we are also open to making sure business can get the skills and talent they need. i have been at a hi—tech business here today and they have been telling me about the challenge they have and how it is important we have an open immigration regime by staying in the eu with, the freedom of movement that brings. that makes it easier for business to get the talent they need to make money,

to provide jobs and pay taxes. the party leaders know they do need to make the right noises about business, but it's far to say all three are rather more focused on winning hearts and minds in the country at large than pleasing the power brokers in the hall today. theo leggett, bbc news. 0ur political correspondent nick eardley is at the conference in greenwich in south—east london. of all the places for the prime minister to say he is post malone in plans to cut tax, this would not normally be the venue, so he was the audience for that? not least corporation tax, i think it is clear that message was not so much intended for the people here but for the public, all part of boris johnson's pitch that he is prepared to privatise the nhs and put more money into public services if he wins power again on the 12th of december. i mean, there were

absolutely some announcements for the cbi that were designed to alleviate some of the fears some here might have about the approach of the government. we know that industry has raised concerns about brexit, concerns about the way the government has been approaching things. his argument was, we will make the national insurance contributions you make a bit less, that will be good, he argues, for business, and on top of that, by getting brexit over the line, we end that uncertainty that you have been complaining about for the last few months. mrjohnson is hoping to contrast that with jeremy corbyn saying, look, if you back the other quy: saying, look, if you back the other guy, if labour are in power, you will have another six months of this. in contrast, mr corbyn saying, well, look, you might have got an idea from the public, from the debate so far that i am anti—business, mr corbyn's argument, definitely not the case, that he is

ready to put money into supporting business, ready to support apprenticeships and increase skills. but unapologetic about his nationalisation project, something that's an industry have raised concerns about, the latest coming of calls on friday with that idea to pa rt calls on friday with that idea to part nationalise bt, suggesting that it might not be the end of it. and we are going to be hearing from jo swinson in the next half hour or so. yeah, we were withjo swinson this morning on a visit in st albans, she is here now it is going to be making her pitch in the next half hour or so. her pitch in the next half hour or so. basically, she is in, because we wa nt to so. basically, she is in, because we want to stop brexit, we are offering the best deal to the cbi, we will have more money as a result of staying in the eu, she argues, but also more access to things like skills because freedom of movement would continue. i mean, you know, all of these parties are going to face big questions from industry over the next few weeks about exactly what their plans are going to mean. some have raised questions,

for example, about how concretejo swinson can be in her promise to have the so—called remain bonus, the £50 billion she says will come over the next five years from remaining in the european union because of growth in the economy. some questions raised over how exact that figure can be and whether some of the promises that are being made can actually be based on that from a liberal democrat perspective. but she is going to be arguing quite simply that if you stop brexit, it will be better for british business. some, though, will just will be better for british business. some, though, willjust want the uncertainty gone with a handful something to happen. nick eardley, thank you very much. and you can hear more on the lib dems' plans for business and the economy when their leader jo swinson gives her speech at 2:25, here on the bbc news channel. not long, we will have full coverage here. more now on the news in hong kong. several protesters have been arrested while trying to run from a university campus which has been surrounded by police following overnight violence in hong kong.

dr andreas fulda is a senior fellow at the nottingham asia research institute and author of the book the struggle for democracy in mainland china, taiwan and hong kong. hejoins us from nottingham. thank you for your time. how much longer can this level of violence and disruption to hong kong go on before somebody‘s patience snaps? well, in a sense, the ccp is already running out of patience, but it must be very clear that carrie lam has been receiving instructions from xi jinping last week, and we need to bearin jinping last week, and we need to bear in mind that xijinping is essentially a stalinist who was presiding over a leninist party state using marxist tactics, so when carrie lam came to hong kong, she suggested that somehow these young protesters were enemies of the political rhetoric, and that doesn't bode well for the coming days, because it does signify an

escalation in terms of rhetoric, and of course we have seen the hong kong police force has also used, yeah, brute force against protesters over the weekend. and we have got the chinese ambassador is in the future of hong kong, if this situation continues, will be unimaginable and dreadful. i mean, what possibly could that mean? well, you know, the ambassador is on the record defending the concentration camps and a cultural genocide against the uighurs and cahuzac people, 1.5 million of them held against their will in these camps. i think whatever he says we should take with a big grain of salt. he is peddling, essentially, communist party lies. what matters far more for the uk is that the chinese communist party is a signatory to the 1984 that the chinese communist party is a signatory to the 198ajoint declaration and is in breach of that treaty, and it is really high time

for the prime minister to speak up and speak out, and yeah, call them out for the violation of an internationally binding treaty. but do what, what difference will not possibly make? well, you say, the chair of the foreign affairs committee, tom tugendhat, made it very clear in one of the final reports of the committee that the british government now has to consider sanctions and there is, of course, the question of what british government could do more to help hong kongers, for example, british nationals overseas, they could, for example, extend their citizen's rights. so the british government could do much more than they are actually doing, and the silence, anyway, not just by actually doing, and the silence, anyway, notjust by the prime minister but by the leader of the 0pposition, who seems to care more about bolivia than what is happening in east asia, is shameful. thank you

very much forjoining us. you are watching afternoon live from bbc news. there are growing calls for the duke of york to cooperate with legal cases in the us about his links to the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. it follows his interview for bbc newsnight, in which denied having any sexual contact with an american woman, virginia roberts, who says she was forced to have sex with him at the age of 17. epstein took his own life while awaiting trial on sex—trafficking charges. andy moore reports. we have come to buckingham palace in highly unusual circumstances. it's the interview that continues to dominate the national conversation. people close to prince andrew told the bbc he stood by his decision to do it. they said he wanted to address the issues involved with what they called "honesty and humility". but it's hard to find anyone who thinks it was a success. i think if a member of the royal family who clearly was friendly with a convicted sex offender

who is going to go on television, the first words out of his mouth should be, "i'm sorry, and if there's anything i can do to assist these victims in any way, shape and form, i would want to do that." but today's daily mail claims andrew has expressed in private the sympathy for epstein's victims that he didn't state in public. the sun takes a very different line, claiming the prince told the queen his interview had been a great success. whatever the angle, the interview continues to dominate the headlines. there's also analysis of andrew's admission that he had met epstein's girlfriend ghislaine maxwell this year, even though she'd been accused of helping epstein groom his victims. if there are questions that ghislaine has to answer, that's her problem, i'm afraid. i'm not in a position to be able to comment one way or the other. when was your last contact with her? it was earlier this year, funnily enough, in the summer, in the spring, summer. about what?

she was here doing some running. ghislaine maxwell has always denied the accusations against her. this was her six years ago. elusive then, she hasn't been seen in public for many months, and no—one seems to know where she is now. 0ur royal correspondent daniela relph is at buckingham palace. the question everyone is asking is how far the question everyone is asking is howfarup the question everyone is asking is how far up the days go? did he ask his mother? yeah, and that is not entirely clear, i have to say, simon. the understanding the bbc had ahead of the interview was that this needed approval at the highest level, so the presumption was that the queen had approved andrew doing the queen had approved andrew doing the interview. but that has not been made clear by buckingham palace yet, so we are not quite sure if that was actually the chain of events or whether somebody else could have given the nod or whether the queen was told after the interview had

been done. it is not quite clear whether she gave her tacit approval for this interview to go ahead. 0k, we will be back to you later. thank you, daniela relph. let's find out more about what went on behind the scenes during that interview. i'm joined now by stewart maclean, newsnight‘s deputy editor. thank you for coming in. you were at the interview. i am just wondering, immediately it was over, did the prince think, that has been a success ? prince think, that has been a success? it was an extraordinary thing for those of us there to witness. i think those of us who we re witness. i think those of us who were there as part of the newsnight tea m were there as part of the newsnight team and is part of the duke's team thought it was a pretty significant intervention and that we were witnessing something fairly significant. afterwards, the duke was pretty relaxed. i think he was relieved that it was over, he had expected it to be bracing, i think in truth probably it was more pricing than he expected from the off, but given that it was a newsnight interview, he shouldn't have expected anything else. but he took us for a short walk around the

marble hall in the front of the palace, which is where most of the staged visits arrived. he was in very good spirits, and we certainly felt that he felt it had gone quite well. and did you have the impression that if her majesty had walked around the corner, she would have been surprised to see a newsnight crew there? have been surprised to see a newsnight crew there ?|j have been surprised to see a newsnight crew there? i think it is very difficult for us to know for sure exactly how high up in the royal household this was signed off. what happened on saturday was the culmination of a very long conversation between us and the office of the duke, almost a year. what actually happened was that we have a team of planning produces at newsnight, one of them, samantha mcallister, was hugely diligent and very well connected, was offered an interview much earlier with the duke based around his charitable work, which we considered and were keen to do, and this was beforejeffrey epstein had been arrested, as he was injuly, epstein had been arrested, as he was in july, and epstein had been arrested, as he was injuly, and before he took his own

life. at that stage, the duke's office were keen for us not to mention the epstein affair, and i had a fairly lengthy conversation with people around the duke and said that, from a newsnight perspective, we couldn't take anything off the table, we don't do deals like that, as the bbc wouldn't do. at that point, the interview fell away, but in the aftermath, with what happened over the summer, is the story changed, we went back to the duke's office, reasserted our desired to do an interview confronting this, and i think the duke and some of those around him were impressed with the integrity we had shown in refusing to do the earlier interview, and i think they reached a point where they decided it was in his best interests to do an interview, to try to get some of the stuff dealt with, and they liked the idea of doing it with us. let's just and they liked the idea of doing it with us. let'sjust hear from the duke, a lot has been made of the language he used. doi do i regret the fact that he has

quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming? yes. unbecoming? he was a sex offender. yes, iam unbecoming? he was a sex offender. yes, i am being unbecoming? he was a sex offender. yes, iam being polite, in the unbecoming? he was a sex offender. yes, i am being polite, in the sense that he was a sex offender. the attitude as much as what was said, when you were there, did you think, this is it odd? i have to say, clearly emily, as you can see, she picked up very quickly on that specific use of language, and i think rightly challenged him on that phrase he used, and he corrected himself, or at least tried to explain himself. i have to say there isa explain himself. i have to say there is a lot going on when you are conducting an interview like this, it isa conducting an interview like this, it is a very intense being, and it is only perhaps in the aftermath that those of you who were there who witnessed it first—hand can take stock of what was said. what i think we got a sense of was that the duke felt he had the opportunity to, albeit by some tough questions, but

to do it in his own way, and i think we got i sensed that it was much more unvanished another royal interviews before. did he strike you as arrogance? i wouldn't say so particularly. monday afternoon, i went to meet with him and his private secretary and emily and i we re private secretary and emily and i were planning producer in the palace, and we had a very long conversation in advance of this, where he was weighing up whether to do the meeting. and he accepted everything was? our red line was that we would make no deal, give no sight of any questions, take nothing off the table, that is ideal, take it or leave it, and i think he gave the impression then of being a man who felt almost trapped by his circumstances, that due to the nature of his role, he felt that he had been left unable to kind of confront the events around him in a way that he might wish to, and i

think... except he is a member of the royal family, if he says, i am going to give an interview, people are queueing up, he has more access than most to be able to do that. but i got than most to be able to do that. but igota than most to be able to do that. but i got a sense, and than most to be able to do that. but i gota sense, and i than most to be able to do that. but i got a sense, and i think we had a sense in advance, that everybody knew that it was a big move for him to give an interview like this. you don't see senior royals interviewed like this. normally it is in a much softer environment, i think it was due to the extreme circumstances at play here that he and those around him felt that it was in the interest to do so. and we were preparing in advance for him to be much more cagey about some of the key questions, and i think emily has talked about, and i think those of us talked about, and i think those of us who were there, we were surprised ina way, us who were there, we were surprised in a way, and how prepared he was to tackle some of the stuff that he responded to. just take your newsnight hat off for just responded to. just take your newsnight hat off forjust a second, would you are now, having seen it, as you obviously have done, with

someone who would say, that is a car crash interview? i don't think it is for us to say, to say, to be honest. we went to the palace and were very upfront from the start about what we could offer, which was a firm but fair interview with nothing off limits. that would put to the duke all of the questions that the public would want asking. we did that, we got the sense in the aftermath that the palace was satisfied. has he come back to you since?” the palace was satisfied. has he come back to you since? i have not spoken to the duke directly, but certainly we have continued to talk with some of the people around him, and in the aftermath of the broadcast there was no sense that they felt let down at all by what happened, i think we tackled the project in the way that we had said we would, which was that it would be a robust, no holds barred interview, and that is what it was, and from newsnight‘s perspective, we have put it out, and it is not for us to decide on how it goes down, really.

it has been quite a week at a newsnight office. good to see you. thank you. and if you missed that interview over the weekend you can watch the whole thing on iplayer now, and it's called prince andrew and the epstein scandal: the newsnight interview. jennifer arcuri, the american businesswoman at the heart of a controversy over her links with borisjohnson, has described her anger at the way she feels she's being treated. she claims the prime minister and his aides have blocked and ignored her since the controversy blew up. it's alleged that she received favourable treatment when mrjohnson was mayor of london because of their friendship — allegations which both he and she deny. ms arcuri told the bbc that the whole situation has left her feeling snubbed by a man she considered a friend. imean, it i mean, it has been ten years that i have had him in my life, and the fa ct have had him in my life, and the fact that i have to now be dragged back to britain to somehow stand up for myself, not be afraid to

actually call him out orjust looking the other way and allowing me to be fed to the lions? i mean, i find it absolutely atrocious, he has gotan find it absolutely atrocious, he has got an entire pr team, you know, and when i reached out to him, asking him about this media and what would happen with the story, i was com pletely happen with the story, i was completely sidelined. why keep me away? why treat me like the enemy? the number of refugees and migrants taking to boats to cross from turkey to greece has surged in recent weeks. arrivals are now at their highest level since 2015. more than 57,000 people have reached greece this year, driven in part by instability in places such as afghanistan. that's still well below the 850,000 arrivals of four years ago, but greece is struggling to cope, as our europe correspondent damian grammaticas reports from just off the island of lesbos. it may look like a flashback — refugee boats heading

for european soil. but this is now. in the eastern aegean, british—led rescue teams are busy day and night, scooping up people up to 50 at a time. a pregnant woman, unable to walk after the freezing sea crossing. the numbers reaching the greek islands are rising again. we're nowhere near the levels of 2015, but arrivals are at the highest point since europe's refugee crisis. out on the water, greek coastguards. it's only the turkish government that can stop the boats coming. so far this year, more than 55,000 people have got past turkish patrols. the increasement continues, and it has some rising potentials, because we see that there are many days when we have maybe arrivals of 200 or 300 persons.

many eu countries have sent vessels to help secure this border. with more boats, they can control these waters better, but that doesn't mean they can stop the arrivals. and the rise in numbers means the pressure is growing again on greece and on its islands. so the reception centre at moria, built for 2000, has overflowed — now holding six times that number. the reason they're still coming — they're still fleeing the same problems, wars and insecurity, hoping for better lives. so the place has become a slum. and amid the rubbish in this corner of europe, afghans bake their own bread. jo swinson has just come to the podium at the cbi conference.

representing 190,000 members across the country, i'm so glad to have the opportunity to talk with you today. you have already heard from boris johnson and from jeremy corbyn today. and depending on how the high court decision goes this afternoon, this might be the closest i get to sharing the stage with them at any point during this election. i com pletely point during this election. i completely agree with the cbi's stands that business has the power to do good. when i was growing up, one of my favourite shops was the body shop. i would go in the run—up to christmas, go to the basket, put in the strawberry and banana shaved soaps, creating a little gift for my friends. but when i would go to pay at the till, they would be a petition to sign, maybe about fair trade or animal testing or perhaps about recycling. the body shop

founder, anita roddick, is still coming to this day, one of my heroes. her book, business as unusual, sits on my book shelf. i have a signed copy, which is one of my prized possessions. her approach to business was indeed unusual. in the 1980s and 1990s, the received wisdom was that nothing else mattered than shareholder returns. but anita roddick bucked that trend. she genuinely believed that business could be a force for good, that business shouldn't be part of the problem but must be part of the solution. the liberal tradition is steeped in that same belief. business can and must be a force for 100 years ago, the cadburys and the rowntree's showed how business is so much more

than numbers on a balance sheet. they created partners —— partnerships between industry and the surrounding communities, improving housing, health and well—being. ensuring that the people working in their businesses were able to thrive and realise their own ambitions. and as business minister, i worked closely with many organisations, including cbi, to make sure that business could make the most of all the talent in our country. whether that was by introducing shared parental leave or gender pay gap reporting. we are so lucky to have such a dynamic, entrepreneurial and pioneering business community. just this morning, i visited a company called imagination technologies in st albans. they imagination technologies in st alba ns. they employ imagination technologies in st albans. they employ hundreds of people, developing high—efficiency graphics processors for use on smartphones, laptops and cars. and

as ever, i was impressed by the innovation, the energy, the constant desire for improvement. we owe you so much for what you do. you create wealth in our country. you build a world leading industries. and you enable investment in our public services. and i am certain that to tackle the biggest challenges that we face, government and business needs to work together. there is such great ingenuity in this room and beyond. 0nly such great ingenuity in this room and beyond. only a foolish government would fail to harness that spirit of innovation to transform our country for the better. now, i know that recent yea rs have better. now, i know that recent years have been challenging. and not just because of the dreaded b word. the conservatives hide behind the balance sheet and employment rates to painta balance sheet and employment rates to paint a picture of a healthy economy. but you and i know that if

we look more closely, the image is not as rosy as they would have us believe. after all, we know that borisjohnson is believe. after all, we know that boris johnson is hardly believe. after all, we know that borisjohnson is hardly a details man. a little bit like when you ask your child to tag at their room, it might look green, but you know you will find a mess hidden under the bed. —— to tidy their room. so let's ta ke bed. —— to tidy their room. so let's take a closer look at the health of our economy. last year, business investment fell every quarter. for the first time since 2008. in the last 12 months, our productivity growth has stalled. and r and d spending continues to lag behind that of our competitors. that is not what healthy economy looks like. and for too many people, the economy just isn't working at all. despite record levels of employment, the average wage is £760 lower than it was ten years ago in real terms. 0ne

in five people in our country is living in poverty. their well‘s fifth largest economy. the vote to leave the european union has distracted the government from addressing the very real issues in our economy “— addressing the very real issues in our economy —— the world's fifth. it has created great uncertainty about the future of our country, the future of our economy and our relationship with our closest trade partners. i can only imagine how frustrating it is for all of you every time we end up days away from crashing out of the eu. how frustrating it is to watch the government recklessly pursue a policy that would be damaging to your businesses. how frustrating it is that you are having to pay such a high pricejust is that you are having to pay such a high price just so is that you are having to pay such a high pricejust so borisjohnson gets to play at being prime minister. just so the man who said f business can sit in number 10. over

the last couple of weeks, boris johnson and jeremy corbyn have set out their plans for investing in schools, hospitals, railways and everything in between. to build infrastructure and the jobs, tax receipts and economic growth will follow. it seems like sound logic, but it is not that straightforward. to spend that much money, that quickly, we need shovel ready projects. we need the skills and the people to make them happy —— happen. and we need you to feel confident to wa nt to and we need you to feel confident to want to invest, safe in the knowledge that the government values you and respects you. leaving the european union makes all of that so much more difficult. already, eu citizens and started to leave us. we know it will only become harder for you to get access to the talent you need. and we know that business confidence is at its lowest level in seven yea rs.

confidence is at its lowest level in seven years. both the conservatives and labour will have to scramble around for projects to pour money into just to keep their word. regardless of whether they are good projects and a good use of public funds. so that they can stand on stages like this and give a speech after speech, making the right noises about investment and sighting big numbers, saying they want to work with you and you to try. but the truth is this, if you want to get brexit done, or get brexit sorted, you are not the party of business. in an interview last week, carolyn asked who the party of business is today. the answer is clear. the liberal democrats are the natural party of business. with the conservatives in the pocket of nigel farage and jeremy corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only ones standing upforyou. the 1970s, we are the only ones standing up for you. because we believe that any form of brexit,

whether it is hard or soft, blue or red, will be bad forjobs. bad for business. and bad for our public services. borisjohnson talked of a brexit beam this morning. but we know it is much more likely to be a brexit bust. we believe being part of one of the most successful economic blocs in the world is the best guarantee we can have for our future, for the success of our businesses and for our country. we believe that our best feature is as members of the european union. that is why a liberal democrat government will stop brexit on day one and use the 50 billion... and we will use the 50 billion... and we will use the £50 billion remain bonus to improve our schools and tackle in work poverty. and we will get on with the job of dealing with the obstacles you face. we will invest

130 bury pounds in infrastructure over five years. we will use that to improve our railways and open up new lines, to reduce how much energy our buildings use and we will use it to leveraged private investment in renewables. to help us meet our ambitious target of generating 80% of our electricity from renewables within a decade. and we are confident we can stick to our plans for two reasons. first, we are back loading our investment so that most of it will happen towards the end of the five years. giving us time to get the foundations in place. and second, because we believe that freedom of movement is a good thing. borisjohnson freedom of movement is a good thing. boris johnson and jeremy corbyn freedom of movement is a good thing. borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn are promising to splash the money unless all that, infrastructure projects. but they would also end freedom of movement. without the european bricklayers, engineers and builders,

they able to build homes, hospitals, schools and railways railways they have promised. we cannot build it u nless have promised. we cannot build it unless they come. liberal democrats, we are committed to helping small businesses, who are the engine of our economy. that is why liberal democrats would scrap business rates and replace them with a commercial landowner levy. it will shift the burden from the tenant to the landlord, so that we can breathe new life into our high streets. frankly, we have seen enough promises of reviews of business rates from the conservatives. it is time for clear action that will give proper help to our small businesses. we will give every adult in england and you £10,000 skills wallet so they can invest in learning throughout their

lives. —— a new £10,000. and as part of our radical and credible plan to reach net zero emissions as soon as possible, we will make the uk a global leader in green jobs and technology. a liberal democrat government will work with you to open up new opportunities for green growth and to save our planet. we will invest £5 billion and zero carbon projects through the green investment bank. we owe it to our children to do this. we are the last generation that can stop irreversible climate change. and we are running out of time. there is much that government can do, but i am clear that the business community is absolutely part of the solution. not least because we need to channel yourideas not least because we need to channel your ideas and entrepreneurialism to ta ke your ideas and entrepreneurialism to take on this huge challenge, as well as the others that we face. and my

vision is for a country where business joins forces with government, public services and civil society to create the kind of society we deserve. so many businesses already take great responsibility for the communities around them, but i know we can do more to encourage others to do the same. so we will introduce a general duty of care of the environment and human rights for all companies and public sector agencies. we will reform the judiciary duty so companies are less bound just by shareholder value. so they can spend more time focusing on the well—being of their employees. the impact they have on the environment. and how they can give back to the communities on whom they rely. and we will ask all uk listed companies and private companies with more than 250 staff to have at least one employee representative on their boards. that will help rebuild trust

between workers and bosses. there is much to be proud of when i think about the strengths of our business community, from its world leading innovation to its tough resilience in difficult times. and you deserve a government that works to help you thrive, not stifle you. what is an offer to you from the two old tired parties at this election is a terrible choice. you have a conservative party that cannot be trusted to respect the rule of law and that is marching in step with nigel farage, intent on pursuing a ha rd nigel farage, intent on pursuing a hard brexit. and a labour party that thinks little of property rights and wa nts to thinks little of property rights and wants to waste yet more time negotiating its own bad brexit deal. 0ur negotiating its own bad brexit deal. our country and our business community deserve better than that. that is why the liberal democrats will stop brexit, and i absolutely wa nt will stop brexit, and i absolutely want you by my side as we build a

brighter future want you by my side as we build a brighterfuture for our want you by my side as we build a brighter future for our country together. thank you. applause thank you very much. thank you very much, and there we will take some questions. i think we have some media questions to start with. and the first might be from simonjack, i think, simon. thanks very much, simonjack, bbc i think, simon. thanks very much, simon jack, bbc news. i think, simon. thanks very much, simonjack, bbc news. your plan to abolish business rates and replace them with a tax on landlords, won't that feed through to businesses in the form of higher rents? and in your numbers can you say it will cost over £3 billion in year one, reducing to 700 million over a period, that is based on the assumption commercial land values will continue to rise, is based on the assumption commercial land values will continue to rise, isn't that a massive assumption even the economics of the high street? thank you very much for the question and

this is an innovative and bold policy that is needed. because let's remember what the issues are that we are trying to solve here. businesses on the high street had been struggling for many years now and they find that the business rates can bea they find that the business rates can be a crippling cost. and this is ina time can be a crippling cost. and this is in a time when they are already having to deal with footfall falling, competition from online competitors, where they are not having to pay the same type of rates. so i think this is an important change. and clearly, it being borne by landlords, some of that may be passed on, but we also recognise it will not all be and this will provide a significant boost for businesses. and the analysis we have done, we do obviously make assumptions based on the future economic prospects and of course, if we were to leave the european union, then we know that there is much more likely to be a hit to the economy and the assumptions would then be different.

but by protecting that relationship, then we have the best chance of protecting our economy. and with this bold policy, to rescuing our high street and providing real help to businesses, too many of whom are struggling. thank you, another media question up there. jim picard, financial times. you say you want a majority liberal democrat government. in the hypothetical scenario but that doesn't happen, and the lib dems are the power brokers, you also have said that you wouldn't deal with jeremy brokers, you also have said that you wouldn't deal withjeremy corbyn. but is there common ground between you and labour under a different leader, and what would be the kind of red lines, would you accept for example the nationalisation of the utility companies? so, obviously, in this election, the liberal democrats are setting out our very clear plans on stopping brexit and investment to improve people's lives, whether that

is huge extra support for parents with more free childcare or investing in mental health and the climate emergency, tackling that. if we don't win a majority we will still want to stop brexit and we will continue to pursue a people's vote which we have led the campaign forfor three years. vote which we have led the campaign for for three years. but i am very clear, as i have been today, that neither borisjohnson clear, as i have been today, that neither boris johnson orjeremy corbyn deserves to be in number 10 and liberal democrat votes will not put either of them there. and specifically, you asked aboutjeremy corbyn, not only does he want to deliver brexit, but this is a man who has completely failed to tackle anti—semitism and —— in his party. and this is not a trivial policy difference. it is a fundamental difference. it is a fundamental difference of values. and from speaking to people in thejewish community, the fear that exists about the prospect ofjeremy corbyn

in number10 makes about the prospect ofjeremy corbyn in number 10 makes it clear to me that there is no way that liberal democrat votes could put him there. we have in this parliament that has just ended, as lib dems, cooperated across party lines, we are doing so on the unite to remain initiative in 66 across the country as well, we have co—operated with us where we agree and we will continue to do that at that includes people in the labour party who share our desire to stop brexit as well as people in the plaid cymru or the snp and indeed conservatives. and we will continue to have that constructive approach to have that constructive approach to politics. but as i say, for the reasons i have outlined, jeremy corbyn will not be put into number 10 by liberal democrat votes. 0k, we are ready now to take questions from the audience. so if you put your hands up and we will find you a paddle and we will get you as many as we can in the next nine minutes. perhaps if we could start here,

please. and then, that is number five, the number two paddle and we will move across to this side of the house. hi, makoto, what do you say to those businesses and employees that voted to leave —— jo. to those businesses and employees that voted to leave —— jolj to those businesses and employees that voted to leave -- jo. i respect that voted to leave -- jo. i respect that people have differences of opinion on this matter and is liberal democrat leader, i am sending this election and making sure that people have a choice and people have the opportunity to choose to remain because we are still members of the european union. we were supposed to leave and march 29th and on the 31st of october and we are still members of the eu. we can stop brexit, that is possible. i appreciate there are some people who disagree with that and they can make that case and i recognise people make that case in good faith. 0ne that case and i recognise people make that case in good faith. one of the things that has happened in recent yea rs the things that has happened in recent years is that we have lost the art of disagreeing well. and somebody can take an opposing position to myself on that matter

and argue it in very good faith and all good conscience and we can disagree ina all good conscience and we can disagree in a way that is constructive and respectful. and i think too much, the tone of our political debate has become poisoned with the assumption that if somebody disagrees, they are somehow inherently evil. and i would like is very much to get back to a politics where we discuss things with respect. thank you. over there, please. applause. buxton, thank you for two questions in one conference. jo, i fully that rather unfashionable category of white male and i hope not too stale, in late middle age. i have voted all my life, i would like to be known as a one nation conservative. but i like a lot of

what you say. i am also somewhat disenfranchised by the loss of the political middle ground in this country and the small lurch to the right we have seen and the huge lurch to the left. and it is that huge lurch to the left that will probably drive me to still vote conservative rather than yourself, because i am scared to death of the prospect of a labour government in this country. and i guess i am really asking, what does your pa rty‘s really asking, what does your party's campaign really asking, what does your pa rty‘s campaign say really asking, what does your party's campaign say to people like me, he would rather crash out of europe with no deal, and i am an ardent and passionate remainer, but i would rather crash out of europe then have a labour government in this country. applause. i mean, chris, you say that you basically are feeling politically homeless in many ways andi politically homeless in many ways and i think there is a lot of people in that position. what i am saying is that the choice on offer, that is

no kind of choice. to force people to make that. that is why i am standing here and being ambitious because i have got two younger children, within this room, people have children and nieces and nephews, do they not deserve better than a choice between crashing out with a no—deal or hard brexit that becomes no—deal in the year and is turning the clock back to the 1970s with failed economic policies coupled with somebody who won't actually stand up for values of equality? and so myjob as liberal democrat leader is to say, look, there is a choice, i am here, we wa nt to there is a choice, i am here, we want to stop brexit. we have a ma nifesto want to stop brexit. we have a manifesto about investing and building a brighter future that our country needs, in a way that does deal with unfashionable things like worrying about whether your ma nifesto worrying about whether your manifesto costs add up and taking more than a casual look at the fa cts . more than a casual look at the facts. and i think there should be room for that.

applause there was a question on the side. we are doing quite well, we have time for another two or three questions after this. john reynolds, from a great british software company. now, advanced helped transform the productivity of over 20,000 businesses and proud to be doing so in this country. putting brexit to one side, what three things would you do next year for the benefit of british business and the people in this room? sure, well, i mean, the first thing i would say is as i have already mentioned, our policy to scrap business rates which i think will be hugely beneficial. i think investment in skills is incredibly important. we have a model where it is assumed you leave school may be university in your late teens or early 20s and that is it. and the

world doesn't work like that. we have a fantastic opportunity of the technological revolution, but it means the world is moving very quickly and people need to retrain and rhys gill. so by giving people access to funds at the age of 25, and 55, that enables people to access that reskilling and training they need, that is driven by them according to their passions and desires. and the other thing i would say is that increasing our investment in research and development. because science is that the fundamental core of how we can, as the uk, continue to be a world leader in industries such as yours and many others. it has been something which has been underinvested in. we do lag behind other countries on r and that to change. ok, thank you. the gentleman in the middle of the stream, can we get a microphone to him, please? 0r maybe he can speak loud enough that

we can hear. we will wait until we get a microphone. and then i think if this is a reasonably brisk question, we will probably manage one more. jo, i understand what you are trying to say, but can you explain why you are going against the majority that voted to leave? so, we are standing for what i believe in. we are a pro—european party. we believe that our best future is in the european union. and we are giving people that choice. because what is on offer now. what is on offer now is actually pretty different to what was talked about in 2016. so, we had a vote, which by a very in 2016. so, we had a vote, which by a very narrow margin came in 2016. so, we had a vote, which by a very narrow margin came down on one side. and yet, in the intervening three and a half years, when i have looked in parliament, even those mps that support brexit

have found it impossible to agree amongst themselves on what brexit should actually mean. and so if they can't even agree two, three years after the 2016 vote on what brexit means, how safe is it to assume that there is a majority in the country for any specific form of brexit? because there are plenty of people who voted to leave who don't want to leave it out a deal and yet that is what is basically an offer now at the end of 2020. and there are plenty of people who voted leave who are saying they want to be in the single market and the customs union, and others say they would only want to leave if it was a no—deal, wto, brexit. so i genuinely don't believe there is a majority in our country right now for any specific brexit path, and when all the government analysis says this will be hugely damaging step to take for our future prosperity, security, public services, to go ahead on that basis, if we are not sure there is a majority in favour of it, i think

that would be irresponsible. so that is why i am standing on this platform, to give people this choice at this election. applause. do we have one applause. do we have one more applause. do we have one more quick question? let's have this lady towards the front, she is close to a microphone. hi, jo, one of the things i am worried aboutjust hi, jo, one of the things i am worried about just now which hi, jo, one of the things i am worried aboutjust now which is slightly coming into the politics, is how women's rights are being eroded by the self—identity gender issue. i wonder what your views are in that? well, i think that equality issues are hugely important. i have literally written a book on gender equality, which is how i spent a couple of years when i was out of parliament. i think that women's rights are hugely important and so is intersection relative. people who area is intersection relative. people who are a woman and happened to be a black woman will experience

additional discrimination, lesbian woman similarly, a disabled woman would be the same category and same is true of chance men or women, so it is important we were the gender recognition act and make that simple. and it is hugely important we consider to —— continue to support equality and i was heartened by what carolyn said about the questions about equality. because i did fight for shared parental leave and to introduce gender pay gap reporting and they are important steps already making a difference. and we do need to go further in terms of flexible working and making sure parental pay policies are transparent so people understand what they are getting into when they apply for a job. there is a lot still to be done on equality and i think one of the things that has really become apparent in the last couple of years is, there are things i used to think would never be turned back, the kind of pat of

equality would always go in one direction, even though there were still battles to be won. i think what it feels like now is that some of those gains are under threat and we shouldn't take for granted equality, i think some of those liberal values are now under attack and we need to fight for them, thank you. that is all we have time for, i am sure we could have gone on longer. so, we leave the third of the party leaders, jo swinson, at the party leaders, jo swinson, at the end of her speech, saying her party would scrap business rates altogether and replace them with a landover levy. she says the lib dems are committed to helping small businesses, calling them the edge of our economy and she argued scrapping business rates would breathe more life into our high streets, she says we have seen enough of the current business rates. the rates of course i what the tories have promised if they are in government. we heard from borisjohnson they are in government. we heard from boris johnson earlier they are in government. we heard from borisjohnson earlier today. so we will hear more from jo swinson later. and at 5:30pm, we will speak

to the brexit party's richard take about their policies, so do get in touch with your questions. you can do so on twitter and you can e—mail us do so on twitter and you can e—mail us all the ways on screen at various points in the afternoon. we look forward to hearing from you later. now though, let's catch up on the weather with darren. sunny across many parts of the country and dry as well, but cold overnight. cloud showing across northern ireland. mostly high cloud, but the breeze picks up and we will see cloud coming into the mid south wales area towards the south—west of england is so not as cold here. it is cold elsewhere with frost more widely and medically cold in scotland. colder than last night across south—eastern england, and risk of patchy and dense fog towards wales and the midlands that slowly lifts in the morning. the odd patchy fog arriving in the fens and lincolnshire. cloud coming in from

the south—west, rain towards northern ireland so that is a change from what we have seen recently. sunshine for much of scotland and much of northern england but still quite cold here. my milder in northern ireland and wales and the south—west of england with more cloud. it shouldn't be as cold tomorrow night, wednesday morning, still a chilly start, but not as frosty. hello, you're watching afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. today at three: stand—off in hong kong — students and protesters try to escape after riot police surround a university campus following over night violence they came running out over the barriers, a large amount of tear gas fired down in their direction. and this is them escaping, basically. you can hear what the police are doing in response. party leaders make their pitch at the cbi — borisjohnson says he's shelving plans to cut corporation tax next april, jeremy corbyn says it's a myth that labour is anti—business. after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces calls to cooperate with legal cases brought by alleged victims

of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. jennifer arcuri, the woman at the centre of misconduct allegations involving borisjohnson, says he's ignoring her and blocking her phone calls. i am very upset that he could not man up and pick up the phone and call me. no—one supports him more than i do, no—one wanted him to succeed more than i did, all those years. coming up on afternoon live all the sport. saracens will not appeal against their punishment for breaching the salary cap, eddie jones their punishment for breaching the salary cap, eddiejones on the impact that could have on his england team. darren bett is looking at the weather. 0ne all being well we will have a good look at why it is good news for skiers but bad news for venice, and we will look at the weather for the uk, a venice, and we will look at the weatherfor the uk, a cold and frosty night to come. also coming up — victory

for the yorkshire museum in its battle to bring home a tiny piece of literary history, as a book by 14—year—old charlotte bronte is sold for more than £600,000 at auction in paris. hello, everyone, this is afternoon live. after violent scenes overnight at a university campus in hong kong, several protesters have been arrested trying to escape from the site surrounded by police. hundreds of protesters are thought to be trapped inside the polytechnic university, which has become the latest battle ground for the pro—democracy demonstrations. china's ambassador to london said this morning that if the situation continued, the future of hong kong will be "unimaginable and dreadful". here's our correspondent in hong kong, robin brant. this is a university under siege and, at times, under attack. this the latest of numerous fires to take hold in the last 2a hours.

outside, the police have surrounded polytechnic university on bridges and roads. inside, the protesters are waiting, fearing a repeat of this. in the early hours of this morning, police raided part of the campus. a tense stand—off remains, though. around 500 protesters have barricaded themselves in, their food and water supplies are running low. they still have petrol bombs and other weapons, though. just before two o'clock in the afternoon, one group tried to escape. it's 1:45, and all of a sudden, we hear tear gas and you look down and see a large crowd of protesters. they're basically making a run for it. i think there must be maybe a hundred of them. they came running out over the barriers and a large amount of tear gas was fired down in their direction. a handful were arrested. the police say anyone leaving the campus will be charged with rioting.

i would urge those rioters, do not try to escalate the level of weapon or violence. we have the capability. i will once again urge them to come out, surrender. the focus now, for the university at least, is to end this peacefully. we have now received the assurance of police of a temporary suspension of the use of force under the condition that if the protesters do not initiate the use of force, the police will not initiate the use of force. the stand—off continues, though, and supporters are streaming into the area around here in large numbers to provoke the police and to try to impede them. we heard that the students inside, they don't have food and water and they want to get out.

this shows no sign of de—escalating — the opposite, in fact. and the police are now sandwiched between protesters barricaded inside and their supporters outside, on the march again. joining me now is our diplomatic correspondent paul adams. you have been urged to hong kong recently, you were at the briefing at the chinese embassy this morning. aware what are we at the moment with this? well, i mean, as the ambassador said, we will not sit on our hands and watch while these violent troublemakers, as the government in beijing would like to describe them, destroy hong kong's reputation, and the damage is very real. the hong kong economy is now technically in recession, that is a point he was anxious to make. but some people are saying that, actually, this is still a rather

small part of hong kong that is directly affected. generally speaking, it is, the protests have become somewhat predictable, they tend to be at weekends and involve students. the drama at the universities has been different, unexpected, and it has run all week, and it suggests that something has changed. i sensed when i was there just a couple of weeks ago, that on the question of violence, which was beginning to creep into the protest is‘ methods, that they defend it, they say, we have been the subject, they say, we have been the subject, the victim of violence for many months now, not just the victim of violence for many months now, notjust from the hong kong police, but also from pro—beijing thugs, as they would describe them, and that we are heading back. they kind of now they are going to lose, i mean this is china, and china is not going to lose this battle for control of hong kong. but they say, we will not go down without a fight. you say they know they are going to lose, and we

are seeing dramatic pictures, using ropes to escape, these pictures taken in the last couple of hours. but at some point, someone's patience has to snap if someone is going to lose out right. their patients has definitely snapped, and thatis patients has definitely snapped, and that is why you are seeing acts of violence, acts of nihilism, tearing the place down. —— their patience. 0n the part of the authorities, after five or six months of this, very few people have been seriously injured, andi very few people have been seriously injured, and i use those words carefully, and almost no—one has been killed, and you can argue that the hong kong police are still operating with quite a considerable degree of restraint. can you? there has been point—blank shooting in at least two cases. there has, but in similar conflicts, by now, i think you would have seen perhaps greater numbers of injured and perhaps even

death. they would argue that they are being restrained. i saw them being somewhat restrained, though at the same time they have been responsible for extreme acts of violence and extreme acts of provocation, both verbal and physical. but ultimately, you know, you have got a garrison of chinese people's liberation army troops in hong kong, the only thing they have done so far in this entire protest period has been to go out and clear rubble from the streets. i do not think the government in beijing needs to use them because ultimately they feel that even though this has gone on so much longer than previous rounds of protest, ultimately they will become exhausted and this will go away, and that china's gradual ta keover of go away, and that china's gradual takeover of hong kong, cultural, linguistic, economic, will continue untroubled. is there any role for the uk to play in this? this was a colony up until the turn of the

century. it is very difficult, and when you see the statement from the foreign office urging restraint and saying that people should receive the appropriate medical treatment, it seems like a rather small voice d ista ntly it seems like a rather small voice distantly in the wings commenting on this, and of course it is met with fury from the chinese authorities. the ambassador went out of his way again to talk about external interference in hong kong, therefore in china's internal affairs. he blames the us house of representatives for a bill recently passed there and certain british politicians, including members of the foreign affairs committee. so anything that smacks of criticising beijing over its handling of hong kong gets slapped down immediately and vigorously, and they do cling to this narrative that somehow foreign interference is at the heart of what has gone on. there is precious little, if no evidence for that us apart from the two examples that he cited, but it is something that they appear to want to believe. thank you

very much, paul adams. borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson are addressing business leaders at the cbi conference today, hoping to win support ahead of next month's general election. the prime minister has pledged to freeze planned cuts to corporation tax next april, with the money being spent on the nhs. the labour leader, jeremy corbyn, has just announced plans for hundreds of thousands of climate apprenticeships in england. in the last half an hour, jo swinson claimed the lib dems are the natural party of business and stopping brexit was the best way to help the economy. we can go over to nick eardley who is at the conference. we will do that in a moment, but first the latest from theo leggett. another day, another destination for the prime minister on the election hustings. this time, a chance to plead his case before business leaders at the cbi's annual conference.

his message on the economy was carefully chosen and the language inevitably colourful. like a formula one supercar, green. he spoke about plans for a cut in national insurance contributions for many firms, and promises to promote research and development. also, a review of business rates. but there was a sting in the tail. if i also announce today that we are postponing further cuts in corporation tax, and before you storm the stage, and protest... laughter. before you storm the stage, let me remind you, this saves £6 billion, that we can put into the priorities of the british people, including the nhs. we have already cut it from 28% to 19%. the stage wasn't stormed, but the decision to delay a 2% tax cut for businesses due next april was unlikely to have been aimed at the audience sitting in front of him. next to speak, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn.

i also hope you enjoyed the warm—up act that's just left the stage. laughter. he dismissed claims that he was anti—business and outlined plans for what he called a green industrial revolution, underpinned by a new generation of apprenticeships. so today we are announcing a new climate apprenticeship programme, delivering 320,000 apprenticeships in england alone during the first year of a labour government. these climate apprenticeships will offer training to school leavers and workers looking to change jobs mid—career, creating the engineers, technicians and construction workers we need. the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, visiting a technology company in st albans this morning, insisted an anti—brexit approach made her is the natural party of business. we are also open to making sure business can get the skills and talent they need.

i have been at a hi—tech business here today and they have been telling me about the challenge they have and how it is important we have an open immigration regime by staying in the eu with, the freedom of movement that brings. that makes it easier for business to get the talent they need to make money, to provide jobs and pay taxes. their party leaders know they do need to make the right noises about business, but it's fair to say all three are rather more focused on winning hearts and minds in the country at large than pleasing the power brokers in the hall today. theo leggett, bbc news. we can go over to nick eardley who is at the conference. simon, thanks. we just simon, thanks. wejust had jo swinson's speech about 45 minutes ago, and a big message was that stopping brexit would be good for the economy, and therefore good for business and the rest of the country, and i was an announcement in there about scrapping business rates, something that some in this

hall will be happy to hear. questions, though, over exactly what will replace it, and someone who might be able to give us answers is jo swinson. talking about a landowner levy, how will that work? basically, it is about not taxing businesses on the basis that they have invested in property and so they will have to pay more, but on they will have to pay more, but on the underlying value of the land, so landowners will be paying that levy. that will save 92% of businesses money, they will be paying less under these plans, and of course we have seen the huge problems in a high streets with, you know, even re ce ntly we high streets with, you know, even recently we have seen clintons and mothercare are going to the wall, businesses have been struggling, lower footfall, finding it harder, and business rates has been part of that, so this change will help struggling businesses. as i understand it, the plan would be that whoever owns the land on which the businesses based would be paying that levy, but they are just going to pass it onto rental something

else, aren't they? it will still have to be a market rent, so the extent to which they will be able to do that will vary depending on the place, and it will end up being a for businesses, because it will generally be the landowners that are paying and, you know, it will still be based on market values in terms of what can be charged. this will be a help to businesses dealing with business rates, which has been a running sore for so long, and the conservatives just announced another review today. i mean, reviews have been promised in previous manifestos, and actually want businesses want our tangible solutions. normally when we come to the cbi conference, there is a big message about business, you have got more than half an eye on the public as well, but should business be worried going into this election about, you know, some of the conservative brexit plans, about the jay court nationalisation plans, and actually about your plan for another referendum, because that means mansell years of more uncertainty?

—— months or years of more uncertainty? the lib dems are the party of business, we will protect freedom of movement to help you grow your business, we are obviously going to stop brexit, which will help the wider economy. there would still be some uncertainty. we would like to stop right away, but it can be dealt with in a small number of months, five months and it could be resolved. there is no way under either the conservative or labour plans that this is resolved for years to come. if people are sick of hearing about brexit now, and i can imagine people are, if it goes ahead, this is just imagine people are, if it goes ahead, this isjust the beginning, like it is series one and there is still a whole box to come, it is not going to be done and dusted. under the liberal democrats, the chance to remain would actually let us end the chaos and get on with improving lives for people. one thing that jeremy corbyn said over the last few

weeks that courted controversy was that he did not think they should be billionaires in a just society. do you think they are a good thing? some of them will be, and there are some people who have, you know, invented things which have totally transformed our lives and, you know, they will make a lot of money out of those things, and we need to make sure that tax regimes are in place so that people pay their fair share, and we need to make sure that we challenge, you know, concentrations of power wherever they are, and i don't think we have got all of those tax systems right. certainly the tech giants have not been paying theirfair tech giants have not been paying their fair share, tech giants have not been paying theirfairshare, we have tech giants have not been paying theirfair share, we have got tech giants have not been paying their fair share, we have got plans to change that, but i think it is also about celebrating what business can do. i do not think business should just be a separate thing making money, it should be part of how we solve problems, if we are going to tackle the climate emergency, then some of the technological solutions will come from businesses inventing new things. if we are going to make our

world safer, fight disease, it is going to be businesses being innovative, so we should be working together with business, rather than it being seen as businessjust being all about making money, and our vision is more and more businesses much more engaged in society, and we change the incentive so that it is not only about returns to shareholders but it is about business's a wider role in society. all right, jo swinson, i think you have got more interviews to do, a lot of people are telling me to let you go now! as you hear, simon, the plan to get rid of business rates is one i am sure we will get more detail of over the next 24 hours or so as well, a chance to dive deep into that. but the main message the lib dems have here is that stopping brexit is the best thing for the economy. of course, borisjohnson here was in the opposite, that it is getting brexit done and getting over the line that would allow the country to move on. nick eardley, thank you very much.

there are growing calls for the duke of york to cooperate with legal cases in the us about his links to the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. it follows his interview for bbc newsnight, in which denied having any sexual contact with an american woman — virginia roberts — who says she was forced to have sex with him at the age of 17. epstein took his own life while awaiting trial on sex—trafficking charges. while awaiting trial what's the reaction been to the prince andrew interview across the atlantic? let's find out. cbs correspondent mola lenghi is in new york. with a day or two to digest the feeling, what are people send you my the initial reaction has not been a good one, especially as it made its way through the media rounds over the course of the weekend, a lot of the course of the weekend, a lot of the same descriptions that we heard from the press in the uk, that it was disastrous, a train wreck, the duke of york came off out of touch, a bit unprepared, there were questions of whether the palace ultimately approved the interview because he came off as unprepared as

he was, and that came off as a bit ofa he was, and that came off as a bit of a surprise, considering that he had time to prepare. and the questions were good, they were tough, but they were straightforward, these were things that you would think he would have been expecting. so as you mentioned, we are still sort of digest in the interview, as americans come off the weekend, they have time to plug back into the new cycle, we might expect a second wave of reaction, the first one has not been received well.m terms of the questions, are there still questions that remain unanswered ? it was still questions that remain unanswered? it was a long interview, and whatever you say about his language, he did address the questions head on. yeah, i think it is just clarity that we seem to be looking for. we come off of the interview as we come off of most of the storylines when it comes to jeffrey epstein with just not as much clarity as we are really looking for. questions are being asked,in looking for. questions are being asked, in many cases the duke of york, as other people, have answered

the questions, but you just don't feel like there is the amount of clarity that we are looking for. and, you know, ithink you clarity that we are looking for. and, you know, i think you will agree that this seems like one of those stories where the record may never actually be set straight. you know, as time goes on, there are more questions, obviously jeffrey epstein is no longer here to answer questions, so in terms of clarity, it never seems like we get a full detailed picture of what actually happened. what has his death done to the sense ofjeffrey epstein in all this? well, opinion about jeffrey epstein in america is pretty much set in stone, i think, people think what they think about him. the questions at this point still remain as to who helped him, who were the potential co—conspirators, who else was involved, who participated? you know, the thing is, as we continue to talk about these storylines, the co—conspirators, the alleged accomplices, prince andrew's alleged

involvement, other people who may have helped him, now we hear new storyli nes have helped him, now we hear new storylines like david jeffrey epstein actually kill himself, or was he murdered? we get into the world of conspiracy theories. what often world of conspiracy theories. what ofte n gets world of conspiracy theories. what often gets lost in these storylines are the victims, their constant pursuit of justice, they are the victims, their constant pursuit ofjustice, they are still pursuing jeffrey epstein's estate, still filing civil lawsuits, and they are often quietly still pursuing justice for their causes, and that is something that is often getting lost in all the other storyli nes getting lost in all the other storylines that we say. it is getting lost in the prince andrew interview, because he did not mention them, there is a lot of criticism of him for that. is there a sense that it gives them impetus to say, if you are prepared to talk to say, if you are prepared to talk to the media, perhaps you should talk to authorities? absolutely, thatis talk to authorities? absolutely, that is something that victims, attorneys for the victims have been calling for from day one. they hear his denials, as well as other people's denials, but they would

like him to sit down and, you know, file some some fault of —— some sort of formal testimony. the feeling is that if you have nothing to hide, you should be able to face the questions. it does not seem very likely that prince andrew or any of the others accused of wrongdoing are willing to do that. mola lenghi, thank you very much for your time. and if you missed that interview over the weekend, you can watch the whole thing on iplayer now, it's called prince andrew and the epstein scandal: the newsnight interview. a tiny piece of literary history — no bigger than a box of matches — has just been sold at auction in paris. written by charlotte bronte when she was just 14 years ago, it's a miniature magazine created for her toy soldiers. the manuscript has been sold for over £600,000, and it's going to return to the bronte parsonage museum in charlotte's native west yorkshire. lizo mzimba reports.

the moment the museum succeeded in buying the incredibly rare charlotte bronte book for 600,000 euros. journal of a frenchman, paris, april 17th... it's some of the author's earliest known writing. charlotte bronte was just 14 when she wrote this collection of short stories. the books, not much bigger than postage stamps, were written for a set of toy soldiers owned by the bronte children, to read while they played. charlotte bronte writes jane eyre in 1847, if i'm correct, and so she is about 30 years old, and this isjust the beginning of her writing, she is already very assured and knows exactly what she wants to write about, and so it is very important that we know these manuscripts. six books were written in total, five of them still survive, and up until today, the bronte parsonage museum has owned all but the one being auctioned in paris.

they are of more than just a passing interest to bronte fans. this little book in particular has a scene in it which is a burning bed scene, which is the kind of precursor to the famous scene injane eyre where rochester is in bed and his bed sheets are on fire and jane saves him. we think that, at the age of 14, charlotte was actually having these early ideas of what would become one of the greatest novels in english literature. the book was last auctioned in 2011, but the museum was outbid when it sold for nearly £700,000. since then, the museum has been hoping for another chance to bring this book home to the place it was originally written. lizo mzimba, bbc news. joining me now is kitty wright, executive director of the bronte parsonage museum. a huge campaign, some famous names taking part, what has been the

reaction today tumour well, as you can imagine, we are absolutely elated here at the bronte parsonage museum, because it was very clear to us museum, because it was very clear to us that the little book belonged home in the building where shall created in 1830, and what was really gratifying to us as we run the campaign was that everyone else seems to agree with that as well. we we re seems to agree with that as well. we were really moved and overwhelmed by the strength of conviction that all of our crowd on our crowdfund and people who were donating and wishing us people who were donating and wishing us well were expressing, that there was no other place for this book to be but here, so we are really pleased that we have been able to deliver for people who have supported us and bring this little book home. of the more famous people involved, dame judi book home. of the more famous people involved, damejudi dench perhaps foremost in those, have you had reaction from like that? we have had reaction from like that? we have had reaction from like that? we have had reaction from lots of people who

have supported us, including those that you might call big names, but for us i guess all of our supporters are important, we have had people who donated £3.50, people who have donated in—form figure sums, and we love them all, and we are very grateful to them for the faith that they showed in us, actually, in being able to bring this little book home. so i think we were all very emotional as not very long past one o'clock this afternoon uk time, when that gavel went down and there was a rush of relief and joy and tears, and now we are just busy thanking people. as we all know, size doesn't matter. it is a lot of money, the for something so small! it is, and there are different ways to measure things, aren't they? you can measure them, of course, by monetary value, but you can measure them by their cultural value, by the strength of

their meaning to people, and clearly there is an enormous emotional value in these little books for lots of people, and of course an intellectual value in them as well for the scholars who are now going to be able to come and have a look at this little book in the parsonage for the first time, where we will keep it for everfor for the first time, where we will keep it for ever for future generations, because of course that is thejob of generations, because of course that is the job of museums. we are just the trustees, the momentary owners, the trustees, the momentary owners, the people in the parsonage at the moment are the momentary owners of this little book. the real owners of this little book. the real owners of this little book are the people of england and the united kingdom, and here it will be forever for them. kitty, you have just here it will be forever for them. kitty, you havejust spent here it will be forever for them. kitty, you have just spent half £1 million and you have still got a huge smile on your face! well, it is money well spent, and as i say, sometimes you can'tjust put a monetary value on these things, we're just delighted that we have been able to secure this very important item. not just for the

museum, but for our visitors, for scholars, and for people to enjoy for yea rs scholars, and for people to enjoy for years to come. kitty, it is great to talk to you, many congratulations, thank you very much. thank you so much. now, follow that, darren bett has got the weather forecast. we are going to have a look at some snow first of all. you are standing in front of the alps! there has been travel disruption, communication disruption in the austrian tyrol, but a huge amount of snow, which is great news for skiers... snow in the alps is not necessarily a story, is it? but it is early and there is a lot of it, if you let me finish! 33 ski resorts at the moment, ten of them in austria, we have had probably record snowfall in the last 24 hours also, and we have also had 225 centimetres of snow in the last seven days in one area, which is in

italy, so is now in the mountains, rain at lower levels, very high river levels here in tuscany, and you can see it is not very easy to use a hovercraft, i am not sure if you have tried, but not easy. and this was venice yesterday, more flooding. in the next few days, you may well find the water level is dropping a little bit, but by the time you get to the end of the weekend, sunday and into monday, we are in spring tide again, just as we work last tuesday when we had that major flooding work last tuesday when we had that majorflooding in st work last tuesday when we had that major flooding in st mark's square and across many parts of venice, so looking at tidal levels of one metre above normal, and then a storm surge coming in with a strong south—easterly wind pushing more water at the adriatic and into venice, so we could find some records broken again as we head towards the end of the weekend. what about closer to home? closer to home, slow changes. it is cold at the moment and it will get a

bit milder. still rain to come from low pressure towards italy which eventually fades away and a big area of low pressure encroaching upon mainly western parts of the uk where we will see the most of the rain in the next few days. today, many places have been dry with a lot of sunshine after what was quite a cold start this morning, frosty in scotla nd start this morning, frosty in scotland and northern ireland. some cloud here and there, pushing in from off the north sea, shower clouds down the north sea coasts fading away. starting to see some high cloud coming into northern ireland. very thin at the moment. wind probably picks up overnight in northern ireland and more cloud pushes into mid south wales towards the south—west of england. ahead of that, there may be patches of dense fog in the colder air. whilst it will be milder across northern ireland than last night, another really cold night in scotland. and colderfor many really cold night in scotland. and colder for many parts of england and wales with a touch of frost possibly towards the south east of england. remember, mist and fog patches which

could be dense in places towards the south east of england and midlands towards wales, cloudy and grey skies developing in these patches of fog spilling towards lincolnshire as well. sunshine for northern england, scotla nd well. sunshine for northern england, scotland and northern ireland, cloud and pockets of rain and drizzle. milderair and pockets of rain and drizzle. milder air here and milder in wales and the south—west. sunshine elsewhere, but another cold day after that frosty start. these weather fronts encroaching on western parts of the uk and it will be mainly northern ireland for the middle part of the week, but the breeze picks up. it gets cold quickly tomorrow evening, but by the end of the night into wednesday money, not as cold and frosty as it will be by the same time tomorrow morning. but still a chilly start to the day. some areas of cloud complicating things and that breeze picks up. for many places, it is dry with sunshine at at times. still the chance of rain in northern ireland, but not far away from west wales and south—west england. a breezy day, a little chilly, with temperatures beginning to rise a little. still

lots of flood warnings across england, some of the areas affected, not a great deal of rain in doncaster lincoln over the coming few days. map showers in nottingham and gloucester, but not the same rainfall we have had early on. goodbye for now. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: stand—off in hong kong — students and protesters try to escape after riot police surround a university campus,

following overnight violence. borisjohnson tells business leaders he's shelving plans to cut corporation tax next april, whilejeremy corbyn lays out his plans on apprenticeships, and jo swinson claims the lib dems are the natural party of business. after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces calls to co—operate with legal cases brought by alleged victims of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. an american businesswoman, jennifer arcuri, who's alleged to have received favourable treatment while boris johnson was the mayor of london, has accused him of ignoring and blocking her. sport now on afternoon live withjohn watson, and saracens aren't going to appeal that whopping fine and points deduction? no, they are not appearing that punishment. a 35—point penalty and £5 million

fine for breaching the salary cap. chairman nigel wray admitted they made mistakes and accepted the penalties. interestingly, it's the impact this could have on the england team. eddiejones said relationships may have been damaged within his squad by the punishment. eight of his matchday squad for the rugby world cup finaljust over two weeks ago were sarries players, including his captain, 0wen farrell. jones admitted some of those players could prioritise their club over their country. it could have a significant impact and it's something we need to weigh and look at very carefully. there might be some dislocation between saracens' players and the rest of the clubs, that's a reality, though we might have to work to mend those relationships a bit harder. and there might be some saracens players that feel like they've got to play

for their club instead of their country. this probably isn't something eddie jones felt he needed to factor. and the davis cup. yes, simon, the davis cup is under way in madrid. croatia are currently taking ion russia in the first tie — and it's all change in terms of the format. novak djokovic and rafael nadal are amongst the stars who'll be competing for their country over the next week, which sees 18 nations competing in six groups, rather than the old system of home and away ties through the year. former spanish international footballer gerard pique has overseen the change. the new style has been criticised, but andy murray and novak djokovic are amongst those who say fans and players should give it a chance. the format change has happened in the davis cup and in the six weeks' time, we will have the at pick up as

well with a very similar format. there was some change necessary and very much needed for the team competitions to gain more attention and more significance. from one of the sport's big stars to a rising star. stefanos tsitsipas is now targetting next year's grand slams after becoming the youngest winner of the atp finals since 2001. he came from a set down to beat austria's dominic thiem on a tie break in the deciding set in london. the 21 year old takes home £2 million in prize money. and he will target plenty more of those as well. gareth southgate says his england side are in a better place now than they were in the run up to last year's world cup. they rounded off their euro 2020 qualification with a comfortable 4—nil win over kosovo, in pristina last night. england had already booked their place in next year's tournament, but the win assures they're one of the top six seeds for the draw at the end of the month.

the australian rugby player israel folau has been criticised for linking the country's bushfires to same—sex marriage and abortion laws. speaking in church in sydney, folau said the fires were a "little taste of god's judgement". he was sacked by rugby australia in may for making homophobic comments on social media. prime minister scott morrison says folau's latest comments are "appallingly insensitive". hobart hurricanes player emily smith has been suspended for three months for posting a team line—up on her instagram account before it was meant to be released. the australian breached cricket australia's anti—corruption code by putting the team on social media around an hour before it was permitted. she accepted a year's suspension, but nine months of the ban are suspended. it rules smith out of the remainder of this season's women's big bash. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour.

great, i will see them. john watson. let's get more on our top story now — the escalating violence between police and protesters in hong kong. we can speak now to patricia thornton, associate professor of chinese politics at merton college, oxford. are we seeing something which suggest this has to come to an end at some point, or is this file is just going to go on and on? well, obviously, we all hope for an end to the violence, but the situation in hong kong is very dire and it doesn't appear that the hong kong sar government has really been able to bring it under control. put this in some perspective for us because there are people living elsewhere in hong kong who say this has been overplayed, overblown by the western media. well, i think the western media. well, i think the western media and certainly do mainland chinese press have tried to portray this as a conflict between radical student protesters, mostly youthful activists, and then the hong kong

police that are just trying to restore stability and order. but instead, it seems what has happened is set in cases of extreme brutality and overuse of force and irrigation are basic rates in hong kong that are basic rates in hong kong that a re protected by are basic rates in hong kong that are protected by the basic law, the men's d —— the constitution of the sar, have fuelled more public sentiment against the police and the hong kong executive branch. so what has really happened is the crackdown itself is feeling further conflict and protest. on the basis of what you say, is there a role for the united kingdom, the former colonial power, to get involved?” united kingdom, the former colonial power, to get involved? i would like to see it, personally, i would like to see it, personally, i would like to see it, personally, i would like to see more of a reaction from the uk authorities, supporting the idea that there needs to be some sort of a dialogue and a protection, a return to what was promised in 1997, when hong kong retch as you chinese rule. and that is enshrined in this

so—called law which said the preceding legal system would remain intact. there are five key demands from the protesters and we saw the extradition belt which was withdrawn from the chinese authorities, would they be right to feel the rules of they be right to feel the rules of the engagement keep changing? -- extradition belt. no, the hong kong protesters and, again, this is a leaderless movement which is a complicating factor, the protesters had been clear they have had five demands. and the hong kong authorities have only so far begrudgingly and only after a very long period of time met one of those demands, which was the withdrawal of the extradition treaty, the proposed bill that had originally initiated the protests. and the largest protest began in june. the protests. and the largest protest began injune. the other four demands have not been met and the hong kong sar has been clear

carrie lam will not support an independent inquiry into police violence. she will not consider dropping the charges against the people who have already been arrested. and as of this money, the hong kong police estimate at least 4,500 people, roughly, have been arrested since earlyjune. 4,500 people, roughly, have been arrested since early june. so a very large number of people. professor, if we know one thing from history, china does not like to look weak, at what point does their patients snapped with this? that is a very good question. and it is really difficult to say. there was a much delayed event which finally took place in early november and hong kong was very much on the agenda and it was discussed, the full discussions are not transparent, they have not been made available to they have not been made available to the outside public. but it does seem

as though hong kong's chief executive, carrie lam, suggested that she wished to resign way back injune. that she wished to resign way back in june. and that that she wished to resign way back injune. and that she was not being allowed to do so. and it does appear, looking at the media reports from the mainland chinese press, that the chinese communist party is urging an even more brutal crackdown than we have already seen. so it does not look as though china is going to back down. and it really then, i think, going to back down. and it really then, ithink, is incumbent going to back down. and it really then, i think, is incumbent upon outside authorities and outside bodies, members of the general public, anyone who can possibly bring any pressure to bear on the hong kong sar government and on china to try to bring this to a more peaceful resolution. professor patricia thornton, from oxford, thank you very much forjoining us. thank you. the number of refugees and migrants taking to boats to cross from turkey to greece has surged in recent weeks. arrivals are now at their

highest level since 2015. more than 57,000 people have reached greece this year, driven in part by instability in places such as afghanistan. that's still well below the 850,000 arrivals of four years ago, but greece is struggling to cope — as our europe correspondent, damian grammaticas, reports from the island of lesbos. it may look like a flashback — refugee boats heading for european soil — but this is now. in the eastern aegean, british—led rescue teams are busy day and night. scooping up people, up to 50 at a time. a pregnant woman, unable to walk after the freezing sea crossing. the numbers reaching the greek islands are rising again. we're nowhere near the levels of 2015, but arrivals are at the highest point since europe's refugee crisis.

out on the water, greek coastguards. it's only the turkish government that can stop the boats coming. and so far this year, more than 55,000 people have got past turkish patrols. the increasement continues and it has some rising potentials, because we see that there are many days that we have maybe arrivals of 200 or 300 persons. many eu countries have sent vessels to help secure this border. with more boats, they can control these waters better, but that doesn't mean they can stop the arrivals. and the rise in numbers means the pressure is growing again on greece and on its islands. so the reception centre at moria, built for 2000, has overflowed — now holding six times that number. the reason they're still coming — they're still fleeing the same

problems, wars and insecurity, hoping for better lives. so, the place has become a slum. and amid the rubbish in this corner of europe, afghans bake their own bread. syrians have set up shops. iraqis try to feed their families. it's a melting pot of peoples, which every day expands. do you find this easy? yes! one of the few things this family have carried all the way from afghanistan are their daughter's school certificates. nada is 13 and just want a place where she can study maths. do you love maths? yes, she loves. you want to study more? yes. in a school anyhere? yeah. can you study here, in the camp? we don't have any teachers. no school? so, here, hopes have to be put on hold. eu countries still can't agree how

many refugees each should take, and the asylum process is grindingly slow. this is your refugee papers? and that is this country. romal salehi arrived from afghanistan a month ago. he's been given an exact date for his asylum hearing — july next year. your eu exam — 2020, 7th and 16th. and at seven o'clock. that's a long time for me. so you have to wait all of this time? yes, waiting for this time. waiting, four years into this crisis. tens of thousands left cold and hungry. europe — failing to deal with them. singing the hopeful and the desperate, who came to its shores looking for protection. damian grammaticas, bbc news, lesbos. from the old bailey we are hearing the sentence of the two teenaged

convicted of murdering jody szczes ny, convicted of murdering jody szczesny, and bushfire drug dealer who mistook her for arrival, szczesny, and bushfire drug dealer who mistook herfor arrival, in an east london park. we are hearing a 19—year—old has beenjailed for life with a 19—year—old has beenjailed for life witha minimum 19—year—old has beenjailed for life with a minimum term of 26 years for her murder. that is the latest coming from the old bailey. there is another defendant who cannot be named because he is 17. we arejust waiting for news, he has beenjailed for at least 18 years for his part injodie's murder. for at least 18 years for his part in jodie's murder. the 17 for at least 18 years for his part injodie's murder. the 17 year youth jailed for his part. there have been impact statements read to the court at that sentencing hearing. the judge in the case has lamented the impact of carved up areas of this capital, she said. the dangers this brings to decent, law—abiding members of the public, is graphically spelt out in this case. that is what the judge had to say as

she sentenced drug dealer svenson 0ng—a—kwie, 19, for life, with a minimum term of 26 years for the murder of the girl scoutjodie chesney. now, the 17—year—old jodie had spoken to her father that morning, peter, it was his birthday on the day she died. she popped her head round the stairs and wished me happy birthday, he told the court, she said that my present would arrive in the post the next day and that she was sorry it was late. closing the door behind him, he says, he would never have known that that would be the last time he would see his daughter alive. so, a case that you may remember, the conviction from just over a week ago. her head teacher at haven sixth form college, said that all those who knewjodie form college, said that all those who knew jodie knew form college, said that all those who knewjodie knew her as an amazing, happy young girl, she was very quirky, different, as evident by her hair colour. she had various

hair colours and the photographs you saw from the court case. let's get more on the sentencing events in court, richard leicester, brings up to speed. yes, it has been quite an emotional day in court five of the old bailey. the proceedings have taken much of the afternoon. we heard from some 15 people who knewjodie either as relatives or someone who was a part of the community, he gave very moving testament about the impact jodie's murder had on their lives, many members of the family said the family had been completely broken by jodie's murder. her boyfriend said he suffered from ptsd and he couldn't sleep at night. he was unable to pursue his studies. we heard person after person in this court room, some in person and some giving details through their barrister, of the impact ofjodie's murder. in the last few minutes, we have heard from the judge, murder. in the last few minutes, we have heard from thejudge, wendy joseph qc, who has sentenced the

pair who were responsible for murdering jodie in march the 1st. she said that svenson 0ng—a—kwie, one of the two defendants, in her view, was the person who wielded the knife, you actually stabbed jodie that single time so hard that the knife went almost right through her body. she sentenced him to 26 years in prison. that is 26 years before he will be considered for parole. it isa he will be considered for parole. it is a match —— a life sentence with a minimum tariff of 26 years. on the 17—year—old accomplice, his name we cannot yet use for legal reasons, she accepted that he did not wield the knife himself. she said that he was less involved in the drugs trade and it is thought, she said, that it was a mix—up over a rival drug dealer that led tojodie was a mix—up over a rival drug dealer that led to jodie being targeted quite accidentally by these two. they thought she was somebody else when they stabbed her. she said although she accepted the 17—year—old youth was not the

stabber, she said he should still serve a stabber, she said he should still servea minimum stabber, she said he should still serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. she has —— she'sjust considering now whether or not the press will be allowed name the 17—year—old, as reporting restrictions apply at the moment. we should hear fairly soon whether or not that will be the case. richard, thank you very much, with the latest from the old bailey. as we've heard, borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson have been addressing business leaders at the cbi conference today — hoping to win support ahead of next month's general election. the prime minister told the conference he'd freeze planned cuts to corporation tax next april — saving the treasury £6 billion, which could be spent on other priorities like the nhs. jeremy corbyn revealed labour's plans for hundreds of thousands of apprenticeships in england in the renewable energy, transport and forestry sectors. and jo swinson said the liberal democrats were the ‘natural party of business, because they would cancel brexit, and replace business rates

with a landowner levy. our business presenter tadhg enright is at the conference in greenwich, in south—east london. simon, hello, there is always a healthy dose of politics at a cb! conference, but more healthy than usual this time around. never before has one happened in the middle of a general election campaign. it was quite remarkable to hear the comments of the cbi director—general carolyn fairburn, who in her address to delegates talked about questioning whether the traditional supportive relationship between government and business was continuing. and talking about the extreme ideologies, she put it, and both sides of the political divide, whether it be hardline brexiteers in the conservative party, or those in the conservative party, or those in the labour party who favour wales —— widespread nationalisation of industries, she talked about them posing a great threat to the economy. so, delegates listened patiently to be the three sales pitches of the main lesson leaders and among those delegates was chris

ireland, his chief executive —— who is chief executive of international property consultancy is chief executive of international property consultanchl l. thank you for being with us today, what did you make of what the three party leaders had to say, did any of them impress you? i mean, as you say, it isa impress you? i mean, as you say, it is a one—off that the cbi conference ta kes pla ce is a one—off that the cbi conference takes place in the middle of a general election, so inevitably, we get a lot of electioneering. what is very apparent, though, is that the bra kes very apparent, though, is that the brakes are coming off and there will bea brakes are coming off and there will be a lot of investment. they are all talking about significant investment projects, especially in technological infrastructure, broadband, they are all talking about skills, increasing education. so what our clients, half our clients are big global corporate occupiers and the other investors,

pension funds and insurance companies and the like. what they are telling me they want to see is the opportunity for the uk to deliver a consistent, stable outlook. so when we are talking about brexit, and we have had brexit, what we are looking for and what our clients are looking for, is something that clears the uncertainty away, but still leaves a strong trading position with the eu. and it remains to be seen if we will get any certainty any time soon. 0ne of the big talking point has been in business rates. borisjohnson talking about reducing them and jo swinson talking about replacing them with a levy on landlords instead of te na nts. to with a levy on landlords instead of tenants. to your mind, do either of these measures, or anything you have heard in this campaign, do anything significant enough to alleviate the burden on many retailers, restau ra nts, burden on many retailers, restaurants, forcing many to pull down their shutters? think about

business rates is, it is a very slow mechanism to adjust to change, it raises approximately £23 billion each year and normally, when you change the mechanism around it on a normally five—year evaluation, it just changes, it doesn't change the overall amount. so it is an inefficient, and it is cumbersome. i think borisjohnson, inefficient, and it is cumbersome. i think boris johnson, if inefficient, and it is cumbersome. i think borisjohnson, if i was listening properly this morning, said he would reduce the 23 billion by1 billion, to 22 billion. is that going to make a fundamental difference, is that going to be the saviour of the retail sector in isolation? i don't think so. jo swinson abolishing business rates altogether. that would put that £23 billion burden, assuming the government still has to raise that money, which it will have to come on landlords and owners of real estate. chris ireland ofjll, thank you very

much forjoining us with your thoughts today. i think a lot of soul—searching going on at this cbi conference and one voice is not indicative of everyone i heard asking a question ofjo swinson, saying he has been a conservative voter a ll saying he has been a conservative voter all his life and now feels alienated by the conservative party, he liked a lot of what the lib dems had to say, but he couldn't quite bring himself to vote for them because he worried about them putting jeremy corbyn in downing street. again, just one voice, not indicative of everyone, but certainly symptomatic of the soul—searching that is going on in many boardrooms soul—searching that is going on in many boa rd rooms around soul—searching that is going on in many boardrooms around the country. just as there are in many living rooms and kitchens around the country, too. simon. thank you very much, from the cbi conference. now, time for a look at the weather. at the sunny skies, it gets colder and frosty overnight. not so much for northern ireland where the breeze picks up and more cloud will come into mid and south wales and the south west of england, so it

will be milder. elsewhere, clearer skies and another really cold night in scotland as last night, frost across rural parts of northern england and north wales and the midlands, and even towards the south east of ringwood. here, we will see more cloud arriving in the morning tomorrow and it will cloud over towards the midlands. mist and fog patches for the east midlands, towards lincolnshire, perhaps east anglia for a while. sunny skies further north with a weather front bringing patchy rain into northern ireland, together with those brisk winds. here, temperatures could be in double figures and it will be milder in wales and the south west and chilly elsewhere with sunshine at at times. the breeze picks up overnight into wednesday morning. not as cold and not as frosty, but still a chilly start to the day.

hello, you're watching afternoon live, i'm simon mccoy. today at four: the murder ofjodie chesney — 19—year—old drug dealer svenson 0ng—a—kwie has beenjailed at the old bailey for life with a minimum term of 26 years. 17—year—old youth arron isaacs has had his anonymity lifted and has received 18 years for his part in her murder. stand—off in hong kong — students and protesters try to escape after riot police surround a university campus following overnight violence. they came running out over the barriers, a large amount of tear gas fired down in their direction. and this is them escaping, basically. you can hear what the police are doing in response. borisjohnson tells business leaders he's shelving plans to cut corporation tax next april, whilejeremy corbyn lays out his plans on apprenticeships, and jo swinson claims the lib dems are the natural party of business.

after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces calls to cooperate with legal cases brought by alleged victims of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. coming up on afternoon live, all the sport. at sara ce ns at saracens will not appeal their punishment for breaching the salary cap rules as eddiejones says his england side will feel a significant impact from the fallout. thank you very much. also coming up — residents of a flooded south yorkshire village have been advised not to return home yet despite water levels falling. hello, this is afternoon live, i am simon mccoy. in the last few minutes, the two teenagers found guilty

of murdering 17—year—old jodie chesney in a park in east london have been given life sentences at the old bailey. drug dealer svenson 0ng—a—kwie, 19, will spend at least 26 years in prison. a 17—year—old boy was given a minimum sentence of 18 years. jodie was killed in march, in a case of mistaken identity. her killers were looking to attack rival drug dealers. richard lister is at the old bailey. yes, thejudge, wendijoseph qc, described jodie chesney as entirely blameless in this incident, she was out that night on march the 1st, an evening with friends in a local park, they were sitting through the course of the evening listening to music when suddenly two men approached them silently and swiftly, nobody really saw them approaching, and she was stabbed just once in the back. she died within the hour. it was an horrific scene, and some of those there that night were giving statements on the

impact of jody's death night were giving statements on the impact ofjody's death to the court, some 15 people describe the impact of her death on them. her father said that the pain had destroyed his life and that his daughter was the most precious human being he had ever known. she was universally described as a bright student, she was at a local sixth form college, a very keen student, devoted to his studies, a classical pianist, she was 18 explorer scout, she visited downing street as part of that experience. she was working towards her gold duke of edinburgh award scheme, she was somebody who was respected by her peer group as somebody who tried very hard to get on in life when she was apparently, as you say, a victim of mistaken identity in what seems to have been a drug to four. —— drug turf war. the two people who have been convicted and sentenced, one named for the first time, the 17—year—old arron isaacs, we can now name him,

he was from barking in east london, sentenced to 18 years in prison. svenson 0ng—a—kwie, who is 19 years old, he was sentenced to 26 years in prison, a sentence larger, thejudge said, partly because she determined that based on the evidence he was the person who wielded the knife. she said that, in sentencing them, she had taken full note of the state m e nts she had taken full note of the statements of the 15 people we heard from in court, she said the family had been dignified even in the depths of their distress and described jodie as a bright, warm and loving girl who gave so much for so many and who should have lead a fulfilling life. as you say, emotional impact state m e nts as you say, emotional impact statements from the family. yes, very much so. several people, i think at least four of those who gave impact statements actually spokein gave impact statements actually spoke in court themselves, a very brave thing to do, and a cold room was full of tears, absolutely

packed, not a single seat available, the whole of the gallery was full, and of course many of her extended family and friends were in the courtroom. we heard from her boyfriend, who was cradling jodie as she lay dying in the park last night. he said the tea had been diagnosed with ptsd, that remembering the situation keeps him up remembering the situation keeps him up most nights, he has panic attacks and flashbacks, he says they can be triggered at any time, he is anxious about going outside of the dark, and about going outside of the dark, and a portrait of so many who gave impact statements really suggested that this awful tragedy has really ruined their life. a friend who was there that night said thatjodie's death had shattered me in every way possible, she said she had constant nightmares about that night. christine, her granny, said this nightmare will never leave me, i will miss her every single day for the rest of my life. richard lister at the old bailey, thank you very

much. after violent scenes overnight at a university campus in hong kong, several protesters have been arrested trying to escape from the site surrounded by police. hundreds of protesters are thought to be trapped inside the polytechnic university, the latest battleground for the pro—democracy demonstrations. china's ambassador to london said this morning that if the situation continued, the future of hong kong will be "unimaginable and dreadful". here's our correspondent in hong kong, robin brant. this is a university under siege and, at times, under attack. this is the latest of numerous fires to take hold in the last 24 hours. outside, the police have surrounded polytechnic university on bridges and roads. inside, the protesters are waiting, fearing a repeat of this. in the early hours of this morning, police raided part of the campus. a tense stand—off remains, though. around 500 protesters have barricaded themselves in, their food and water supplies are running low. they still have petrol bombs

and other weapons, though. just before two o'clock in the afternoon, one group tried to escape. it's 1:45, and all of a sudden, we hear tear gas and you look down and see a large crowd of protesters. they're basically making a run for it. i think there must be maybe a hundred of them. they came running out over the barriers and a large amount of tear gas was fired down in their direction. a handful were arrested. the police say anyone leaving the campus will be charged with rioting. i would urge those rioters, do not try to escalate the level of weapon or violence. we have the capability. i will once again urge them to come out, surrender.

the focus now, for the university at least, is to end this peacefully. we have now received the assurance of police of a temporary suspension of the use of force under the condition that, if the protesters do not initiate the use of force, the police will not initiate the use of force. the stand—off continues, though, and supporters are streaming into the area around here in large numbers to provoke the police and to try to impede them. we heard that the students inside, they don't have food and water and they want to get out. this shows no sign of de—escalating — the opposite, in fact. and the police are now sandwiched between protesters barricaded inside and their supporters outside, on the march again. earlier, i spoke to our diplomatic correspondent paul adams about how much of hong kong is being

impacted by the protests. the protests have become somewhat predictable, they tend to be at weekends and involve students. the drama at the universities has been different, unexpected, and it has run all week, and it suggests that something has changed. i sensed when i was there just a couple of weeks ago, that, on the question of violence, which was beginning to creep into the protestors' methods, that they defend it, they say, we have been the subject, the victim of violence for many months now, notjust from the hong kong police, but also from pro—beijing thugs, as they would describe them, and that we are hitting back. they kind of now they are going to lose, i mean this is china, and china is not going to lose this battle for control of hong kong. but they say, we will not go down without a fight. you say they know they are going to lose, and we are seeing dramatic

pictures, using ropes to escape, these pictures taken in the last couple of hours. but at some point, someone's patience has to snap if someone is going to lose out right. their patience has definitely snapped, and that is why you are seeing acts of violence, acts of nihilism, tearing the place down. 0n the part of the authorities, after five or six months of this, very few people have been seriously injured, and i use those words carefully, and almost no—one has been killed, and you can argue that the hong kong police are still operating with quite a considerable degree of restraint. can you? there has been point—blank shootings in at least two cases. there has, but in similar conflicts, by now, i think you would have seen perhaps greater numbers of injured and perhaps even death. they would argue that they are being restrained.

i saw them being somewhat restrained, though at the same time they have been responsible for extreme acts of violence and extreme acts of provocation, both verbal and physical. but ultimately, you know, you have got a garrison of chinese people's liberation army troops in hong kong, the only thing they have done so far in this entire protest period has been to go out and clear rubble from the streets. i do not think the government in beijing needs to use them because ultimately they feel that even though this has gone on so much longer than previous rounds of protest, ultimately they will become exhausted and this will go away, and that china's gradual takeover of hong kong, cultural, linguistic, economic, will continue untroubled. is there any role for the uk to play in this? this was a colony up until the turn of the century.

it is very difficult, and when you see the statement from the foreign office urging restraint and saying that people should receive the appropriate medical treatment, it seems like a rather small voice distantly in the wings commenting on this, and of course it is met with fury from the chinese authorities. the ambassador went out of his way again to talk about external interference in hong kong, therefore in china's internal affairs. he blames the us house of representatives for a bill recently passed there and certain british politicians, including members of the foreign affairs committee. so anything that smacks of criticising beijing over its handling of hong kong gets slapped down immediately and vigorously, and they do cling to this narrative that somehow foreign interference is at the heart of what has gone on. there is precious little, if no evidence for that us apart from the two examples that he cited, but it is something that they appear to want to believe.

borisjohnson, jeremy corbyn and jo swinson have addressed business leaders at the cbi conference today, hoping to win support ahead of next month's general election. the prime minister told the conference he'd freeze planned cuts to corporation tax next april, saving the treasury £6 billion which could be spent on other priorities like the nhs. jeremy corbyn revealed labour's plans for hundreds of thousands of apprenticeships in england in the renewable energy, transport and forestry sectors. and in the last half an hour, jo swinson said the liberal democrats were the natural party of business, because they would cancel brexit, and replace business rates with a landowner levy. theo leggett reports. another day, another destination for the prime minister on the election hustings. this time, a chance to plead his case before business leaders at the cbi's annual conference. his message on the economy was carefully chosen and the language inevitably colourful. like a formula one supercar, green. he spoke about plans for a cut in national insurance contributions for many firms, and promises to promote research and development.

also, a review of business rates. but there was a sting in the tail. if i also announce today that we are postponing further cuts in corporation tax, and before you storm the stage and protest... laughter. before you storm the stage, let me remind you, this saves £6 billion, that we can put into the priorities of the british people, including the nhs. we have already cut it from 28% to 19%. the stage wasn't stormed, but the decision to delay a 2% tax cut for businesses due next april was unlikely to have been aimed at the audience sitting in front of him. next to speak, the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. i also hope you enjoyed the warm—up act that's just left the stage. laughter. he dismissed claims that he was anti—business

and outlined plans for what he called a green industrial revolution, underpinned by a new generation of apprenticeships. so today we are announcing a new climate apprenticeship programme, delivering 320,000 apprenticeships in england alone during the first year of a labour government. these climate apprenticeships will offer training to school leavers and workers looking to change jobs mid—career, creating the engineers, technicians and construction workers we need. the liberal democrat leader, jo swinson, visiting a technology company in st albans this morning, insisted an anti—brexit approach made hers the natural party of business. 0n the podium, she focused on her body's anti brexit approach. the liberal democrats are the natural party of business. with the conservatives in the pocket of nigel farage and jeremy corbyn stuck in the 1970s, we are the only ones

standing upforyou. the 1970s, we are the only ones standing up for you. because we believe that any form of brexit, whether it is hard or soft, blue or red, will be bad forjobs, bad for business, and bad for our public services. the party leaders know they do need to make the right noises about business, but it's fair to say all three are rather more focused on winning hearts and minds in the country at large than pleasing the power brokers in the hall today. theo leggett, bbc news. all three leaders at that conference today had a job to do today, boris johnson had to get at the message that he was not going to go ahead with the cut to corporation tax, as he had argued in his leadership campaign before he became prime minister. not only did he backtrack on that, but he had previously said that cut would allow the economy to grow and businesses to flourish, but

he said today that leaving it where it is would allow the government to spend that money on public services instead. jeremy corbyn, the labour leader, i think, instead. jeremy corbyn, the labour leader, ithink, had instead. jeremy corbyn, the labour leader, i think, had to calm fears that some of the business community have about what a labour government would mean for them, and his message was very would mean for them, and his message was very much that renationalising industries would not be an attack on business but on the contrary a move that would allow them to flourish, and his announcement about creating new apprenticeships would also have been aimed at, hopefully, swaying some mines in the room there too. and thejo some mines in the room there too. and the jo swinson, some mines in the room there too. and thejo swinson, the lib dem leader, apart from saying, remember me, iam leader, apart from saying, remember me, i am here as well, she also had a message focused on brexit that the liberal democrats were the natural party of business because they didn't want brexit to happen in the first place, and a a majority government would revoke article 50 cancel brexit outright, mindful of the fact, i am sure, that the cbi

campaigned to remain initially. so they message to business leaders was clear from all three leaders today, didn't feel like there were any game changing announcements that will influence the campaign, much more of a formality for the leaders to go through this event, as they do generally now, in a election campaign. andi generally now, in a election campaign. and i few generally now, in a election campaign. and ifew clues in terms of policies with regards to and the economy before the manifestos are revealed later this week. this announcement on corporation tax from borisjohnson, this announcement on corporation tax from boris johnson, delaying this announcement on corporation tax from borisjohnson, delaying it, coming just hours after one minister was on the television saying that they were going to bring this end because lower corporation tax meant money going up. you can't have it both ways, can you? no, and the timing of this announcement was interesting, clearly perhaps so that it wasn't a nasty surprise for businesses when we read in full the

conservative party manifesto, which we expect in the next few days also, and taking the sting out of it, if you like, getting it out there early so that businesses have time to digest that, and as soon as the policy is put down in black and white, borisjohnson policy is put down in black and white, boris johnson doesn't face questions and allegations that he has gone back on what he said he would do before. but it is certainly a shift from what he and his ministers were arguing earlier today. jonathan, thank you very much. 0ver today. jonathan, thank you very much. over to the old bailey, police reaction to the sentencing in the jodie chesney case. i would like to pay tribute to the family who have supported the investigation and done everything they can to help us. it is obviously a great ordeal that has happened, and hopefully today it will give them some form of closure and they will be able to move on with the rest of their lives. is there any questions you may want to ask? inaudible

is out today we have jodie's uncles and aunts, cousins and friends. the cousins and one of the friends read out a very moving impact statements, which i am sure the judge took into account and, you know, it was very moving and had a lot of people in tears. the family have been very supportive throughout the investigation, and we can't thank them enough for their help and support throughout the investigation. we like to thank the family, they have been amazing. terry, yeah? 0n family, they have been amazing. terry, yeah? on behalf of the family, we would like to say thank you to the met police, all the teams, everyone involved from start to end have been amazing. thank you. chairs. thank you, terry. will you be able to get on with the rest of your life? we will try. today is justice. she will never be back but

at least we got some justice. justice. she will never be back but at least we got some justicelj justice. she will never be back but at least we got some justice. i am not going to speak about that, we believe that there. yeah. inaudible yeah, from a personal point of view, it has been one of the hardest investigations i have ever dealt with. it felt like the world was watching, waiting for answers, but me and my team have worked tirelessly to try to get as much evidence as we could as quickly as we could, unfortunately, through the dedication of the team, we managed to get enough evidence to charge those responsible. obviously we respect the jury's decision. there we re respect the jury's decision. there were four people that went to that scene, two men got out of the car, and only really there was no went into the playground know why they did it. the judge into the playground know why they did it. thejudge has into the playground know why they did it. the judge has given his views, which we respect, but only the two men involved know why they

we nt the two men involved know why they went there. it is important that all four people involved in the events that unfolded that night were put into the dock and have the opportunity to give an account to the jury. it makes opportunity to give an account to thejury. it makes it easierfor the jury thejury. it makes it easierfor the jury to assess the evidence and come to the conclusion is that they had. and myself and the rest of the team respect their decision. inaudible these individuals have shown no remorse since day one. they denied, when they were first arrested, they denied even knowing they were wanted for murder, they tried to limit, you know, their involvement in this tragic or horrific murder from day one. itjust shows tragic or horrific murder from day one. it just shows the tragic or horrific murder from day one. itjust shows the level of tragic or horrific murder from day one. it just shows the level of debt the judge has said they are both

drug dealers, they thought to cause injury toa drug dealers, they thought to cause injury to a you know, a young 17—year—old girl who had the rest of her life ahead of her. as the judge said, the knife nearly went all the way through said, the knife nearly went all the way throuthodie, said, the knife nearly went all the way through jodie, it said, the knife nearly went all the way throuthodie, it is horrendous, it will stay with everyone for a very long time. you have spoken to her father, what is his reaction? he is happy with the sentence, we spoke to him as soon as he came out, he knew the sentence, he is very happy. inaudible site again. inaudible absolutely. the same where you have heard in court for eight weeks. nothing more, nothing less. everything you need to know about jodie is in there. amazing, amazing girl, sadly missed.

inaudible who is that too? sorry. look, from a policing point of view, it needs everybody to deal with this problem. it is not just everybody to deal with this problem. it is notjust the police's problem, it isa it is notjust the police's problem, it is a public health approach, it stems from education, from a young age, and it needs everybody to work together to try to deal with this. it is not just together to try to deal with this. it is notjust the police who can combat this. hopefully, these sentences will be a deterrent for others who may think about carrying knives and knowing the injuries and, you know, the lives that they devastate. hopefully, this will be a deterrent to them, but only time will tell. but as i say, it needs everybody to play a part. it does need to have the fear put on the pa rt of need to have the fear put on the part of the criminal in this, the people that carry these knives, there needs to be a fear of

detection before we get to the stage that we arrived at in march with the death ofjodie. very difficult, it is not a one size fits all answer, but everybody has to come together on this, and sentences such as these are part of the solution, i believe. 0k? thank you very much. are part of the solution, i believe. ok? thank you very much. thank you. thank you all. the two police officers in charge of that investigation, talking outside the old bailey after the sentencing of the two killers ofjodie chesney. this is svenson 0ng—a—kwie, 19, and arron isaacs, who was 17, both convicted earlier this month, sentenced in the last hour, and as you heard from the family, the right result as far as they were concerned. we will bring you more reaction to that a little later on.

there are growing calls for the duke of york to cooperate with legal cases in the us about his links to the convicted sex offenderjeffrey epstein. it follows his interview for bbc newsnight, in which denied having any sexual contact with an american woman, virginia roberts, who says she was forced to have sex with him at the age of 17. epstein took his own life while awaiting trial on sex—trafficking charges. andy moore reports. we've come to buckingham palace in highly unusual circumstances. it's the interview that continues to dominate the national conversation. people close to prince andrew told the bbc he stood by his decision to do it. they said he wanted to address the issues involved with what they called "honesty and humility. " but it's hard to find anyone who thinks it was a success. i think if a member of the royal family who clearly was friendly with a convicted sex offender who is going to go on television, the first words out of his mouth should be, "i'm sorry, and if there's anything i can do to assist these victims in any way, shape and form, i would want to do that."

but today's daily mail claims andrew has expressed in private the sympathy for epstein's victims that he didn't state in public. the sun takes a very different line, claiming the prince told the queen his interview had been a great success. whatever the angle, the interview continues to dominate the headlines. there's also analysis of andrew's admission that he had met epstein's girlfriend ghislaine maxwell this year, even though she'd been accused of helping epstein groom his victims. if there are questions that ghislaine has to answer, that's her problem, i'm afraid. i'm not in a position to be able to comment one way or the other. when was your last contact with her? it was earlier this year, funnily enough, in the summer, in the spring, summer. about what? she was here doing some rally. ghislaine maxwell has always denied the accusations against her. this was her six years ago. elusive then, she hasn't been seen in public for many months,

and no—one seems to know where she is now. our royal correspondent daniela relph is at buckingham palace. do they think there the interview was a success? i don't think they do, simon, there hasn't been an official statement around the interview today from buckingham palace, but i think we can safely say that the public response to the interview was perhaps not what prince andrew's private office had expected or anticipated, and they are now having to deal with the fallout from that. the idea seems to have been that if you put prince andrew in that kind of interview format, expose him to all of those questions, don't have any limits on what he can be asked, it will then put in front and centre to deal with all of the allegations and rumours that have been swirling around his relationship with jeffrey that have been swirling around his relationship withjeffrey epstein. but what has happened here with this interview is that the interview itself has meant there are now more

questions than away before it actually happened, so questions about whether prince andrew can do an interview of that kind, should he now be talking to the fbi and to be pa rt now be talking to the fbi and to be part of the official investigation in united states? buckingham palace this afternoon on that side, if requested, the prince would consider it. but also questions now around hisjudgment more it. but also questions now around his judgment more broadly, it. but also questions now around hisjudgment more broadly, why didn't he say, i am sorry, i am full of regret? and also in terms of his day to day work, do all those organisations with whom prince andrew works, the charities and other groups, want to carry on working with him in of that. we will get a better, clearer picture on how thatis get a better, clearer picture on how that is looking and panning out over the coming days. where does the buck stop, does this go as far as the queen? a gap in terms of authorising the interview, it does seemfi queen? a gap in terms of authorising the interview, it does seem it goes as far as the queen, that has not been explicitly put, but any interview in buckingham palace of that kind, you would have to think that kind, you would have to think that she would know about it, and

that she would know about it, and that was the implication that the bbc had, that the queen had knowledge of it. in terms of where the buck stops, it does seem this was an interview driven very much by prince andrew, the duke of york himself, and his closest aides, so his private office, so not necessarily the wider media operation at buckingham palace, but very much there was people working in his private office with his day—to—day work. ultimately, i suspect it is that office who has to bear responsibility for the fallout. daniela relph at buckingham palace, thank you. and if you missed that interview over the weekend, you can watch the whole thing on iplayer now. it's called prince andrew and the epstein scandal: the newsnight interview. now it's time for a look at the weather with darren bett. after, sunny skies for many parts of the country today, it will get cold and frosty in most places overnight. not so much for northern ireland, where the breeze will tend to pick up. we'll also see more cloud coming

into mid and south wales and the southwest of england. so here, it's going to be mild. but elsewhere, we've got those clearer skies and other really cold one in scotland like it was last night, frost, especially across rural parts of northern england, north wales, parts of the midlands and even towards the southeast of england. here, though, i think we'll tend to see more cloud arriving through the morning tomorrow and it'll tend to cloud over a bit more through the day in towards the midlands. ahead of that, some mist and fog patches for the east midlands up towards lincolnshire, perhaps east anglia for a while. sunny skies further north, but we've got a weather front bringing some patchy rain into northern ireland together with those brisk winds. so here, temperatures could be in double figures and it will be milder, i think, for wales and the southwest. but quite chilly elsewhere with some sunshine. at times, the breeze continues to pick up overnight into wednesday morning. not as cold, not as frosty, but still, a chilly start to the day.

this is bbc news. our latest headlines: life sentences for the murderers ofjodie chesney — one will spend at least 26 years in prison, the other will serve a minimum of 18 years behind bars. stand—off in hong kong — students and protesters try to escape after riot police surround a university campus, following overnight violence. borisjohnson tells the cbi he's shelving plans to cut corporation tax next april, whilejeremy corbyn lays out his plans on apprenticeships, and jo swinson claims the lib dems are the natural party of business. after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces calls to cooperate with legal cases brought by alleged victims of the sex offenderjeffrey epstein. news from the high court, the liberal democrats and the snp have lost their high court challenge against itv over its decision to exclude their party leaders from

televised election debate. itv hosting a prime—time head—to—head between the conservative leader borisjohnson between the conservative leader boris johnson and jeremy corbyn between the conservative leader borisjohnson and jeremy corbyn on the 19th, tomorrow night. but the lib demsjo the 19th, tomorrow night. but the lib dems jo swinson the 19th, tomorrow night. but the lib demsjo swinson was not invited to participate. and they then went to participate. and they then went to the high court with the snp to fight that decision. we're just hearing that they have lost. so we will you my reaction to that as we get it. sport now on afternoon live, withjohn watson. and saracens aren't going to appeal that whopping fine and points deduction? no, perhaps surprisingly so, but i presume they have accepted their punishment and the body of evidence, they have accepted that punishment and the points penalty and that fine. for breaching rugby union's salary cap. chairman nigel wray admitted they made mistakes and has accepted the penalties. interestingly, though, it's the impact this could have on the england team. head coach eddiejones said relationships may have been damaged

within his squad by the punishment. eight of his matchday squad for the world cup finaljust over two weeks ago were sarries players, including his captain, owen farrell. and jones admitted some of those players could end up prioritising club now over country. it could have a significant impact, and it's something that we need to weigh and look at very carefully. obviously, there may be some dislocation between saracens' players and the rest of the clubs, that's a reality, though we might have to work to mend those relationships a bit harder. and there might be some saracens players that feel like they've got to play for their club, instead of their country. it just shows what itjust shows what eddiejones is having to deal with and saracens have concerns of their own and it may have an effect on international concerns for players. tennis, and all change at the davis cup. yes, simon, the davis cup is under way in madrid. croatia are currently taking

on russia in the first tie — and it's all change in terms of the format. novak djokovic and rafael nadal are amongst the stars who'll be competing for their country over the next week, which sees 18 nations competing in six groups, rather than the old system of home and away ties through the year. so they are broadly in favour of it. former spanish international footballer gerard pique has overseen the change. the new style has been criticised, but andy murray and novak djokovic are amongst those who say fans and players should give it a chance. the format change has happened in the davis cup, and in six weeks' time, we're going to have the atp cup up as well with a very similar format. so, there was some change necessary, and very much needed, for the team competitions to gain more attention and more significance. the way andy murray has been paying will be a real boost for great britain.

stefanos tsitsipas is now targetting next year's grand slams after becoming the youngest winner of the atp finals since 2001. he came from a set down to beat austria's dominic thiem on a tie break in the deciding set in london. the 21 year old takes home £2 million in prize money. the australian rugby player israel folau has been criticised for linking the country's bushfires to same—sex marriage and abortion laws. speaking in church in sydney, folau said the fires were a "little taste of god's judgement". he was sacked by rugby australia in may for making homophobic comments on social media. prime minister scott morrison says folau's latest comments are "appallingly insensitive". hobart hurricanes player emily smith has been suspended for three months for posting a team line—up on her instagram account before it was meant to be released. the australian breached cricket australia's anti—corruption code by putting the team on social media around an hour before it was permitted. she accepted a year's suspension, but nine months of the ban are suspended. it rules smith out of the remainder of this

season's women's big bash. sam curran looks likely to be chosen ahead of chris woakes for england's first test against new zealand, which starts on wednseday evening. curran says he aims to emulate ben stokes' all—round contribution to the team, following stokes heroics in the world cup and ashes last summer. my my role in the side, if i do pay, will be coming between the bat and number eight and bowling than trying to ta ke number eight and bowling than trying to take wickets. i look up to some like stokes who always places the batter at number five and he comes and takes loads of wickets as well. my and takes loads of wickets as well. my main aim is tojust keep and takes loads of wickets as well. my main aim is to just keep working ha rd my main aim is to just keep working hard with bat and ball because i feel when i play my best, i am contributing in both formats. that's all the sport for now. more at half past five. now on afternoon live, let's go nationwide — and see what's happening around the country — in our daily visit to the bbc newsrooms around the uk. let's go to bbc look

north's phil bodmer, who is in fishlake today, where residents are still dealing with the flooding that began ten days ago. and with floods having caused so many issues in the uk and around the world in the last few weeks, dominic heale, from bbc east midlands today, joins me from nottingham, where he is talking about new flooding prediction technology. so, phil, whats the latest from fishla ke? simon, fishlake is at last open, the main road in and out of fishlake, open for traffic. but this is an incident still ongoing, the fire service and emergency services and environment agency and council services are still in town. this is the environment agency incident command unit. a lot of people, as you may remember, were evacuated at the height of this crisis. many of them are now beginning to return to assess the damage to their properties caused by this flood. we have talked to people in the village today and we went about 100 yards up

from where i am talking now and we spoke to a guy called john duckett who has lived in the village for 79 yea rs, who has lived in the village for 79 years, he has never seen flooding on the scale and the house he built in 1963 is pretty much destroyed, certainly the contents. this is what he told me earlier today. well, this is my lounge, what i decorated two weeks sense. new carpet. so the cup is completely ruined, it is solid? two new units. on the settees? they we re two new units. on the settees? they were floating on top of the water. how does it make you feel when you walk in? sad. but there is not only me. there are hundreds like you? yes. probably worse. everybody is alive, everybody, that is it. get over it, won't we? yes. this is the bet a lot of people don't see because the national spotlight moves away from places like this. i wonder what is being doom for residents as

they do return home? yes, i think you have hit on a very good point. lots of people say, please don't go, keep your camera is here because i think they are concerned the national spotlight fades and then they simply get forgotten. well, i have to say that the emergency services are still here, the environment agency is still working here today, as are the local authority, and they are helping people who have come to their homes. and you can imagine the heartbreak and the devastation as you heard john talk when you come to your house and see absolutely ruined. the fire service have also been on hand today, this is what the incident commander told me about their effo rts commander told me about their efforts today to help people coming back to their houses. we are moving to the recovery phase now, so we're still in pockets of houses that have got their sellers and areas in the house flooded. so we are attempting to move that water out, in conjunction with the environment agency, we are moving from smaller pumps we have in the

fire service to the bigger environment agency pumps, moving up water through and out of the town and ultimately back into the river don. so, the clean-up has begun, simon. but as you can imagine, this isa simon. but as you can imagine, this is a large—scale incident and it will take many, many more months before it is complete. and as you might imagine, it isjust the beginning of winter, so the people here, every time rains, rains, will anxiously look what —— at what is happening. keep us in touch and give residents say we have taken our eye off the ball, that is no. dominic, tell us about this new flood prediction technology. yes, this is a new phrase for you, ground truth to validation data. that is what this is all about. i am told the background is the consensus of course not accepted by everyone that we have a changing climate with more intense rainfall. the impact of flooding in populated areas is

increasing at an alarming rate, particularly surface of flash flooding. the team at loughborough university believe the impact of flash flooding could be reduced with more detailed warnings, cutting delays that can result in loss of life and damage to property and disruption to services. at the moment, the environment agency only once a river or coastal flooding so at loughborough university, they have created a new computer modelling system called floodmap li, which they say provides real—time street level predictions of flooding down to individual properties, displayed on a map. of course, it is computer modelling, but at an incredibly detailed level. yes, by providing two days warning right down to the property and street level, we are able to identify the key areas that need support and where to send the most resources, and what action needs to be taken at those places. what is different about this, how does it compare with the forecasts we are all used to?

well, many of the flood prone cities in the world do of course have flood forecasting systems in place. a standard weather forecasts with river level readings, but according to the experts at loughborough, this leaves out key types of flooding such as surface water flooding. flash flooding. they are typically low resolution and they lack accuracy. so current forecasts also rely on rerun flood scenarios, what happened in the past. but of course, the argument goes every storm is different. floodmap live uses real—time computer modelling to process weather forecasts. from real—time computer modelling to process weatherforecasts. from ibm, who provide global weather forecasts for google, among others. i did put it to the team that it is data in and data out and your outcome is only as good as the forecast you put in. and they agreed. so as male grandma used to say, sometimes, you are better off just grandma used to say, sometimes, you are better offjust looking out of the window! -- my grandma. you have just wasted the last ten minutes of

the report, dominic, but all right! it is great to talk to you, thank you very much. phil, is that electricity on that street? it looks very dark? the power is on. it wasn't on for a large part of this crisis. people didn't have any power whatsoever. but northern power grids have been working to restore power and as faras have been working to restore power and as far as i know, pretty much every house is more or less back on supply, every house is more or less back on supply, although some of the properties remain unoccupied at present. some good news anyway. more at 6:30pm. phil and tomic, thank you very much. nationwide tonight. —— dominic. you can access those stories fired the iplayer and we go nationwide at 4:30pm on afternoon live. breaking news in the past few minutes. the snp and the liberal democrats

have lost their legal challenge against itv ahead of tomorrow's election leaders' debate. the broadcaster wanted the debate only to feature the conservative leader borisjohnson, and the labour leader, jeremy corbyn. our political correspondent tom symonds is at the high court. what has happened? well, it took the twojudges, a what has happened? well, it took the two judges, a high what has happened? well, it took the twojudges, a high courtjudge and anotherjudge, just twojudges, a high courtjudge and another judge, just a twojudges, a high courtjudge and anotherjudge, just a matter of ten, 15 minutes to reach a decision. about this claim from the liberal democrats and the scottish national party that they should be allowed access to this head—to—head debate between jeremy corbyn access to this head—to—head debate betweenjeremy corbyn and boris johnson. thejudges betweenjeremy corbyn and boris johnson. the judges came betweenjeremy corbyn and boris johnson. thejudges came back and said they would not agree to that. they would refuse to even hear, effectively, thejudicial they would refuse to even hear, effectively, the judicial review. what they said was, and it is a slightly legal arguments, they said itv was not exercising a public function. it is a private broadcaster, albeit regulated. and therefore, it could not be subject toa therefore, it could not be subject to a judicial review. but they also said that if the two parties had a

complaint about this programme, they had a way of complaining to ofcom, the regulator. that could only be done after the programme is broadcast. but the judges said that that was a way in which the two parties could raise their objections. they also said, and i think it is an important part of their decision, that the editorial judgment made by itv was not irrational and perverse. and that they did not want to, as judges, effectively, to get in the way of an editorial matter for a major broadcaster. so, the app from the parties is rejected and the debate goes ahead tomorrow at 8pm. that is borisjohnson goes ahead tomorrow at 8pm. that is boris johnson and jeremy corbyn head—to—head. the liberal democrats, head—to—head. the liberal democrats, he said throughout they would not be properly represented in that programme unless they took part because, in a case of the liberal democrats, bay —— they made this point, they believe they are the only true party of leave and they say neither labour or conservatives

are in any way align to that position —— the party of remain. and that position would be unrepresented. they still have big problems with this court decision and they will look at this closely. the full decision, the reasons the judges made this decision, have not yet been given to the court, that will probably be tomorrow. and the liberal democrats are saying they will take a closer look before deciding what to do next. thank you, the latest from the high court. let's get more on this with kirsty blackman, deputy leader of the snp's westminster group. first of all can make your reaction to that? well, i think it is hugely disappointing. we don't live in a presidential democracy, we don't have a system where you are voting for a president. we have a system where you are voting for your local mp, on the basis of the party values they stand for. and i think it is a bit ridiculous that a huge number of party values will not be represented at that debate tomorrow night. but is that it as far as any action is

going to be taken before the debate? well, i think, going to be taken before the debate? well, ithink, as going to be taken before the debate? well, i think, as the lib dems have said, as she discussed, we will look very carefully at the judgment, we haven't got the full details yet and we need to look carefully at that before we decide what to do, but i think it is hugely disappointing this decision has been made. looking at what we have heard today from other party leaders talking to business at the cbi, the conservatives say they will postpone any cut in corporation tax, that will save, they say, five or £6 billion. yes, so the conservatives and the labour party have both upset the cbi today over their immigration proposals. the cbi have been very unhappy with the fact there will be a skills shortage with the conservatives and with the labour party, they say there will be extreme ideology and a crack in the foundations of the economy. the proposals that we are putting forward a much more pragmatic in

this space, so we are very keen on freedom of movement continuing, for example, because we know how vitally important that is for the scottish economy. and if we don't have a situation where we have got a party or people in power in westminster that are willing to allow us to have that are willing to allow us to have that immigration system that we need, we believe that should be devolved to the scottish parliament so we can take our decisions about immigration that work for the people of scotla nd immigration that work for the people of scotland and the scottish economy. the securing of scott has a membership of the european single market and the customs union which you see as protecting access to scottish business, how is that realistic? -- scotland's membership. that was a compromise proposal we put forward in 2016 that if we have brexit, which we don't want, the uk should remain in the single market and remain in the customs union. you wouldn't have had any issues over the border with northern ireland and ireland for example if that proposal had been followed, you wouldn't have a situation where there has been a different deal done for northern

ireland. scotland is seriously losing out as a result of that. we also voted remain and appreciate the situation that is in northern ireland. if that special deal can be negotiated for them, surely that special deal should also be negotiated for us? looking at the other part, labour and the liberal democrats also talking to the cbi today. what is the difference between whatjo swinson are saying, she described herself as representing the party business now, and where you are? they want to stay in the european union. so, we have had a lot of conversation with the cbi in recent times to find out where they are and i think one of the biggest concerns i have heard from business is the fact that they have been speaking to the uk government and the uk government simply haven't been listening to them. they will sit and listen may be, but they won't take any action in the interest of business. so we have been doing that listening, that responsible listening, but also taking away what they have said.

when our manifesto was launched, i think you will see there are a lot of policies in there for the good business and not least the policies we have around protecting freedom of movement, protecting single market membership and protecting customs union membership. this department, deputy leader of the snp's westminster group, thanks for your time this afternoon —— kirsty blackman. our business presenter, tadhg enright, is at the conference in greenwich, in south—east london. he can bring us reaction to what they had been hearing on the election front. hello, we will talk about the economy now. we have had plenty of different recipes put on the table by the different party leaders about how they would cook up the certainty, the clarity about britain's future direction that businesses have been starved of ever since the brexit referendum, whether it is the conservative saying with a majority, they will pass the withdrawal agreement by the end of january and with labour saying they will ensure that the uk stays in the european customs union, with the liberal democrats saying they will

stop brexit altogether. of course, reflecting the diversity of opinions amongst members, the cbi is careful these days not to say much about the merits or otherwise of brexit, but one thing it is always clear run as it wants to avoid a no—deal brexit, something tomoko refused to rule out when asked today by our business editor simonjack. when asked today by our business editor simon jack. —— when asked today by our business editor simonjack. —— boris when asked today by our business editor simon jack. —— boris johnson. iamjoined by editor simon jack. —— boris johnson. i am joined by the chief economist to assess the different political pictures we heard today. thanks for being with us today. one of the big claims by boris johnson being with us today. one of the big claims by borisjohnson is there is an avalanche as he put it of pent—up investment which is just waiting to get out there as soon as we get the clarity businesses say they need. do you think is right and there is that pent—up there? you think is right and there is that pent-up there? business investment has been really weak in the uk economy over the past two years, but i think the challenge is, we are not going to get clarity on any one day. when it comes to the dealjohnson has on the table, what is absolutely

critical is two things. we have to avoid a no—deal brexit, so we are saying to any leader, when you are negotiating a deal with the eu, you have to make sure we don't end up with another cliff edge in the summer or with another cliff edge in the summeror later in the with another cliff edge in the summer or later in the autumn. we need those negotiations to take as long as they need to to deliver a brexit deal that works for the whole economy and that is really the second point. we need a deal that works for all sectors, that has the right projections for the environment and workers and that really works for the whole economy, and that is what businesses need, if they get confidence on those points, i think we will see business investment pick—up in the uk. i think we will see business investment pick-up in the uk. but are we likely to see that anytime soon? boris johnson says are we likely to see that anytime soon? borisjohnson says he could get the withdrawal agreement ratified by the end of january, get the withdrawal agreement ratified by the end ofjanuary, but the free trade negotiations begin and who knows when they might end? labour say with their pitch that they will renegotiate the deal and put it to the people once again. neither of which adds up to a swift

return to certainty, does it?|j think it is going to be a long process from here, i think what is critical is we take no—deal off the table, that will give businesses a lot of confidence and i think whoever takes over in december, that is where we really need to see confidence that that is not where we are going to end up. and then i think it will take time for that future relationship to be determined across all sectors. but businesses are used to dealing with that sort of wider uncertainty. what they want to see as a government delivering on the domestic agenda, how are we are going to invest in infrastructure, what are we are going to do and business rates, what are we are going to do on skills and retraining, how are we are going to make sure we have the right innovation in the uk? if we have confidence in the domestic agenda and of negotiating a good deal with the european union, i think you will see business investment. there has been a big focus on immigration in this campaign and one of the most pertinent points came today from jo swinson that the two big parties can make all kinds of big pronouncements

on delivering new infrastructure, but if we haven't got the people with the necessary skills or sometimes the low skills we need to deliver those projects, there is no point, if we can't build it, if they don't come. particularly the uk is a service led economy and that is all about people and talent. so we do need to make sure we are attracting tale nt need to make sure we are attracting talent from around the world. we need an immigration system that works for our economy. and that is about the best and the brightest, but if that is synonymous with graduates and people earning over £30,000 a year, that is not what we need to see. we need some of that and we also need to see the right skills in our construction trade, scientific technicians, we need a more broader view of what talent is. 0k, rain newton—smith, chief economist with the cbi, thank you very much. lots for the delegates to digest. the first time a cb! conference has been held during a general election campaign. many delegates re—evaluating perhaps their traditional party allegiances

and one of the most striking lines of the day came from the director—general carolyn fairbairn, he said the extreme ideologies of both sides of the political divide as she put it are the greatest threat to the economy right now. simon. thank you very much for that. that is it from your programme occur team. —— afternoon live. now it's time for a look at the weather. tonight, the fuss will develop widely and it will follow what has been a lovely guy and mostly sunny day across the uk. some cloud around running down the north sea coast and into parts of kent. one or two showers as well. but a lot of dry weather. over the next few days, western parts of the uk and the south—west see most of any rain as the weather fronts moving around that area of low pressure further east. but largely dry further east. there is the shower clouds we have had on the northerly breeze today

and there is more cloud in northern ireland, although rather thin cloud. the breeze picks up here overnight and more cloud coming into mid and south wales and england and it should be milder here than night in northern ireland certainly. cold again for scotland and cold and frosty for northern england and parts of north wales into the midlands and towards the south east of england. here, a lot colder than it was last night. cloud will start to work into the south east of england on tuesday morning. turning to cloud into the midlands. the ahead of that, there could be areas of fog to watch out for and in the morning through the likes of east midlands into lincolnshire. more sunshine further north with this band of cloud and rain beginning to arrive into northern ireland. milder here as it will be across wales and the south—west, colder further north and east despite a little sunshine. the weather fronts pushing their way towards western fringes of the uk, not making a great deal of progress

into wednesday. the breeze picks up a bit overnight. frost may develop very early and a lot of it will left by the end of the night so it won't be as cold on wednesday morning. many places will have a dry day with some sunshine around. summaries acquired moving northwards and still have a chance of rain in the west, mainly affecting northern ireland. the breeze will be noticeably brisker and it will still feel chilly, with temperatures starting to lift a little. 6—9d fairly typically. milder towards the end of the week and into the weekend. still a lot of flood warnings and some areas affected by those at the moment, not a great deal of rain into the end of the week you're indeed over the weekend.

two teenage drug dealers are jailed for life for the murder ofjodie chesney. 17—year—old jodie chesney was stabbed to death in a park in east london. thejudge called it a "callous, casual and irresponsible" murder. it has been one of the hardest investigations i've ever dealt with. it felt like the world was watching, the world was waiting for answers. we'll bring you the full story. also coming up... a dangerous stand—off in hong kong — riot police surround a university campus with hundreds of pro—democracy protesters inside. after his bbc interview, prince andrew faces growing calls to cooperate with the american authorities over their investigations into the late sex offender, jeffrey epstein. party leaders make their election pitch to an audience